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THE PLAN BOOK SERIES 



A LITTLE 



JOURNEY™CHINA 



FOR INTERMEDIATE AND UPPER 
GRADES 



By 
MARIAN M. GEORGE 



CHICAGO : 
A. FLANAGAN CO. 



Library of Congress 

Iwo Copies tof- 
FEB 14 1901 

_* Copyright entry 

Jar. n,'?o' 
■^*.3X7*.£- 

SECOND COPY 









Copyright, 1901, 
By A. FLANAGAN COMPANY. 



A Little Journey 
to China. 



Why should we visit what is regarded as the most 
unprogressive people in the world ? Is there anything 
about China to interest or instruct us? Shall we find 
many things that are strange or wonderful? Let 
us see. 

China was a nation not less than 5,000 years before 
the United States was born. 

She has a language whose alphabet consists of 25,- 
000 to 50,000 characters, not less than 3,000 to 5,000 of 
which a pupil must learn before he can read. 

A printing press was in operation in China one thou- 
sand years before John Gutenberg, of Mentz, made per- 
manent the revival of learning in Europe by his valuable 
invention. 

Her libraries contain volumes from three thousand to 
four thousand years old. 

There were schools and academies in China two thou- 
sand years before the Christian Bra. 

Her people constitute more than one-fourth of the 
human race, and her territory includes more than 
2,700,000,000 acres of ground, or 350,000,000 acres 
more than the United States, and nearly 200,000,000 
acres more than the whole of Europe. There is enough 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 5 

territory to cut out twenty patterns the size of the Ger- 
man Empire and thirty-five the size of Great Britain 
and Ireland. 

Her government is a monarchy whose dynasties begin 
so far back in the mists of the past that "the mind of 
man runneth not to the contrary " of their claim to be 
the oldest government on the globe. 

Yet it is a government in which, though the ruler 
has the power of life and death, he is required by law 
and custom to rule justly, and in which only the schol- 
ars hold office, after passing a civil service examination. 

The people of China possess a wonderful skill in 
handicraft, and though unacquainted with the inven- 
tions and modern progress in Europe and America, yet 
her artists and artisans are, in several lines, not only 
unsurpassed but are unequaled by those of any other 
country. 

To keep out an enemy that scourged Europe like a 
remorseless plague, the engineers and laborers of China 
built a wall fifteen hundred miles long over plain and 
hill and mountain alike, and so substantial that, though 
twenty-two centuries old, most of it stands intact to-day. 

It is a land having three great religions, all of which 
one man may accept, and in whose temples the people 
worship indiscriminately, for they all teach the worship 
of many gods, the worship of one's ancestors, reverence 
for Confucius (a great teacher), virtue, industry, polite- 
ness, and obedience to the old and to superiors. 

There is a common people's language which differs so 
much that frequently people of different provinces can 
not understand each other; there is an official language, 
which the educated speak and can understand; and yet 



6 a little journey to china. 

their written language does not depend on pronunciation 
at all, and is thus different from the spoken languages. 

Truly this is a remarkable and interesting people, 
though we shall find some very unhappy things about 
them on our trip into their " Celestial Empire." We find 
them really not so unwilling to see us as many persons 
represent. They are so well satisfied with their condi- 
tion, manners, and customs that they quickly resent 
efforts to change them, strange as this may seem to us 
from what we see in their houses and in their worship. 

But the wise traveler soon learns to respect the opin- 
ions and the customs of the people visited, remembering 
that he is just as odd and as much an object of curiosity 
to them as they are to him. 

HISTORY OF THE EHPIRE. 

Before we proceed on our trip, let us sit down together 
and learn what we can of the story of the life of the 
Chinese nation. 

In the dawn of history, from 2,200 to 3,000 years 
before the Christian Era, a tribe of Turanians, 
one of the three great divisions of the human race, 
migrated east from the land of Babylon. They prob- 
ably passed south of the Hindoo Koosh Mountains, and 
entered the fertile regions between the Kuen Lun and 
the Himalayas. Some historians, however, think they 
entered north of the Kuen Lun Mountains. 

Pushing on eastward, these Turanians entered the 
valley of the Hoang-Ho River, destroyed or absorbed 
the peoples already there, and founded the Chinese 
Empire. This gradually spread northward and south- 
ward, through conquering or absorbing its conquerors, 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 7 

till it now covers a region extending over two thousand 
miles from north to south, and nearly three thousand 
miles from east to west. 

Our histories do not tell us much about the growth 
of the empire, because it has not played a very impor- 
tant part in the civilization with which we are ac- 
quainted. It is evident, however, that more than four 




Dragon Supposed to Ward off Evii,. 

thousand years ago these people knew how to make 
brick from clay, how to build canals, how to sing and 
play on musical instruments, how to write, and how to 
calculate the movements of the stars; also that they had 
domestic animals, cultivated the fields, and had forms 
of worship and of government. 

The Chinese records so mix up facts with myths in 
their earlier accounts, that we do not have much that 
is reliable in their history, until the reign of the Em- 
peror Cheng, beginning 247 b. c. He ended the strife 
that was going on between different factions, overthrew 
the Chow dynasty which had been ruling eight hundred 
years, founded the Tsin dynasty, and assumed the title 
of Shih Huang Ti, or " First Emperor." 

It will interest us to know that Ponce de Leon was 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 0, 

not the first person to seek the elixir of immortality. 
The Chinese story is that some birds placed the grass 
of immortality upon the eyes of a murdered man in 
Khokand, restoring him to life. This grass was said 
to grow in the coral fields of the Three Isles of Fairy- 
land (Japan), to have leaves resembling the water-grass 
called ku } and to have such power to nourish the spirit 
that a single blade could restore one thousand corpses 
to life. 

Prince Hsti Fu set out with one thousand virgin boys 
and girls to find the land of the Immortals. He failed 
to find it, took up his abode on Fusiyama Mountain, 
and there died. 

GREAT WALL — WONDERFUL HIGHWAY — IMPERIAL 

PALACE. 

The deeds of Emperor Shih Huang Ti will give us 
a very good idea of the vast power and the wonderful 
resources of the Chinese monarchs. The accounts are 
true, though they seem to us marvelous. 

Hordes of wild barbarians, known as Huns, or Mon- 
gols, living to the north of the empire as then existing, 
had frequently made very destructive incursions into 
Chinese territory. The emperor sent General M£ng 
T'ien, with an army of 300,000 men to drive them out. 
This being done, thousands of men were put to work to 
build a great wall 10,000 li (over 1400 miles) long, 
fifteen to thirty feet high, and with watchtowers at 
intervals, to keep out the invaders. 

The wall begins at the sea and extends west to the 
desert. There is enough material in this wall to erect 
seventy-five of the great pyramids of Egypt. It is of 



IO A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

earth, stone, or brick, and required as much labor as to 
construct 125,000 miles of railroad. 

Having now put an end to war at home and to attacks 
from abroad, emperor Shih Huang Ti began to erect 
structures and to make other changes to establish the 
fame of his reign. He built a great highway from the 
city of Chin-yuen, near Peking, to Yun-Yang, a distance 
of six hundred miles. To do this, valleys were filled 
up, rivers spanned mountains cut through and marshes 
drained. 

In the Imperial Forest Park he constructed his great 
palace, the front gate to which was the peak of a moun- 
tain, miles away to the south. Three great pathways 
lead to the palace, whose front hall measured five hun- 
dred paces from east to west, and fifty from north to 
south. 

The plan of the palace corresponded to and repre- 
sented that portion of the heavens between the north 
star, the milky way, and the constellation Aquila, the 
vacant spaces being indicated by courts, corridors, and 
winding paths. 700,000 workmen brought stone from 
the mountains to the north and wood from the prov- 
inces of Ssii Chuen (" The Four Streams "), Hunan 
("South of the River") and Shanshi ("West of the 
River"). 

He erected three hundred palaces in the city of 
Hsien Yang and four hundred more outside. Then 
70,000 families were counted off to live in these pal- 
aces, though not in idleness. 

He constructed numerous canals, and thus increased 
trade between different parts of the empire ; he had the 
whole empire investigated, described, and divided up 



A little journey to china. 



ii 



into provinces, over which lie appointed local governors; 
he ordered the mathematicians to construct a new arith- 
metic based on the figure 6 — having his own head-dress 
six inches high, his chariot six feet long, drawn by six 
horses, and the empire divided into thirty-six (6 2 ) prov- 
inces ; and he established black as the imperial color. 
However, he was a barbarous, selfish, vain, and 
cruel man; and when bad counselors told him that the 




J rye IMPERIAL. pAuACp., p£ K. I ^ q , 

As Now Existing. 

men who had opposed his great works of public im- 
provement were encouraged to do so by reading books 
of poetry and history, and thus taught to revere the 
past and to oppose progress, he ordered all these books 
gathered and destroyed. When the literati protested, 
he had four hundred of them put to death. 

Upon the death of the " First Emperor," one of his 
ambitious generals gained possession of the throne, and 
in 206 B. c. founded what is known as the Han dynasty. 
This dynasty ruled China for 425 years, and during 
this period, about sixty years before Christ, the reli- 
gion of Buddha became so popular that the emperor 
sent to India for the Buddhistic sacred books. This 



12 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA.. 



religion now is accepted very generally among the com- 
mon people of China along with Confucianism and 
Taoism. 

Internal dissensions rent China until 590 A. d,, when 
the people were again united under the Emperor T'ang. 
The time of the T'angs is regarded by many as the 
golden age of Chinese history. 

From this time on to 1644 A. d., China spread to the 
south and west, and at various times was in fearful war- 
fare with the Tartar tribes to the 
north — those terrible warriors 
that Emperor Shi Huang Ti had 
shut out by his great wall. At 
times these would conquer and 
rule the empire, into which, how- 
ever, they were gradually ab- 
sorbed. The present dynasty, 
which has been reigning two 
hundred and fifty-seven years, 
is a Manchu-Tartar dynasty. 

Kwangsu is the present em- 
peror, though the person who is 
really ruling the empire is the 
Dowager Empress, a woman of 
commanding powers and of great 
shrewdness and executive ability, who has handled the 
reins of government with consummate skill. Her full 
name is Tz'u Hsi Tuan Yu Kiang I Chao Yii Chuang 
Ch'eng Huang T'ai Honl 




A Manchu Woman. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 1 3 

AREA — SURFACE— CLI HATE. 

The total area of the Chinese Empire is estimated at 
4,278,000 square miles, divided up into: China proper, 
1,533,000; Mongolia, 1,093,000; Manchuria, 364,000; 
Thibet, 738,000; Sinkiang (Eastern Turkestan), 550,000. 

The population is estimated at 350,000,000 to 400,- 
000,000, or from 270 to 300 persons to the square mile 
in China proper. If the people of China were placed 
in a line two feet apart they would reach round the 
world nearly six times. There are five cities having 
over 1,000,000 people; six having between 500,000 and 
1,000,000; and fourteen having over 100,000. 

Erom Canton on the southeast coast to Yarkand 
near the western border is as far as from New York to 
San Francisco ; and from Canton to Blagoveschensk on 
the northern border is as far as from New York to Salt 
Lake City. 

On the southwestern border of China are the Hima- 
laya Mountains, containing the loftiest peaks on the 
globe. An offshoot of these mountains extends east- 
ward to the Gulf of Tong-king and the China Sea. 

To the west are the Karakorum Mountains, the great 
Pamir table-land and the Thian-Shan Mountains. 

To the north are the Altai and Yablonoi mountain 
ranges and the Amoor River. To the east are the 
Japan, Yellow, and China Seas, and the Pacific Ocean. 

It will thus be seen that the natural boundaries of 
the empire have helped no little to isolate China, and 
to encourage the disposition of the people to shut out 
the rest of the world from their domain. 

The surface of China is quite diversified. In the 



14 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



southwestern part of Manchuria there is a great salt 
plain, but the central and northern sections are com- 
posed of fertile river valleys and forest-clad hills. 

This division of the empire has, by treaty, been 
placed under the protection of the Russian govern- 
ment. Through it the great Trans-Siberian Railway, 
one of the most remarkable works of modern times, is 




View Along the; Han River. 

to reach its chief outlet to the Pacific Ocean at Port 
Arthur. The other outlet is to be Vladivostock. From 
Cheliabinsk, the European terminus of this railroad 
(lying to the east of the Ural Mountains in Asiatic 
Russia, however), to Port Arthur is 4,035 miles. 

Mongolia is the vast region including and surround- 
ing the desert of Gobi, which the Chinese call Shamo, 



A LITTTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 1 5 

ort lie Sea of Sand. Summer rains fertilize some spots 
in the desert, and most of the uplands on the border, 
thus furnishing pasture lands for large nocks of sheep, 
goats, camels, horses, and other animals. 

With the exception of the rocky Shantung Peninsula, 
between the Gulf of Pe-chi-li and the Yellow Sea, the 
eastern part of China proper consists of the two great 
plains that form the lower valleys of the Hoang-Ho, 
the Yangtse and the Han Rivers. 

The larger plain, extending from Hangchow to the 
mountains north of Peking, is about 700 miles long by 
400 miles wide, at its greatest width. Though of won- 
derful fertility, this plain is so low that the Hoang-Ho 
River, which traverses it, has overflowed its banks 
many times, making a pitiful destruction of crops, 
homes and lives. 

The river has changed its course eleven times within 
the last twenty-five hundred years, sometimes emptying 
north of the Shantung peninsula, and sometimes south 
of it. Such great desolation has been caused by these 
overflows that the river is called " China's Sorrow." 
Bven so learned a man as Li Hung Chang has been 
said to bow down before a little water-snake, and plead 
with it to use its influence with the River Dragon, so 
he will not come out of his banks, ruin the people's 
homes, and fill the country with sickness. 

With the exception of the lofty table-land of Thibet 
and the partly desert region of Turkestan, the surface 
of the remainder of the Chinese Empire is composed of 
forest-clad mountains, fertile uplands, and rich river 
valleys. 

The valleys of the southern rivers have a rich, red 



16 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



soil, which is cultivated on the mountain sides to a 
height of 2,000 or 3,000 feet. In the valleys of north, 
ern China is found a peculiar soil known as loess. This 
is yellow in color, porous, has much lime in its com- 
position, and is supposed to be largely dust blown from 
the great table-lands. It is quite fertile, and the people 
cultivate land here as high as 5,000 to 6,000 feet on the 
mountain sides. 

Thibet is a great plateau, composed of plains and 
peaks from 9,000 to 17,000 feet high. Many lakes 
nestle amid the mountains, and the melting snows form 




.rtMgiU* 



A Native Wagon — Thibet and Turkestan. 

the headstreams of a number of Asiatic rivers. The 
bleak highlands are not suited to agriculture, though 
some sheltered valleys grow small crops and furnish 
grass for the yaks, sheep, wild goats, asses and horses. 

Eastern Turkestan, which the Chinese call Sintsiang, 
is divided by the Thian Shan mountain range into 
Dzungaria on the north and Kasgaria on the south. It 
is composed of mountains, sand plains and oases. 

This country is the gateway by which China 
trades with western Asia, by means of caravans. The 
great Chinese highway ends at the beginning of the 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



17 



Turkestan oases routes, and it is thought that a rail- 
way may be built here in the near future. Wild horses, 
wild asses, and wild camels roam on the mountain 

borders. A great ^ ^ 

natural curiosity 
is Lop Nor Lake, 
into which the 
Tarim River 
empties. This 
lake has no out- 
let, contains 
fresh water, and 
is changed in 
location by the 
winds, which fill 
it up with sand 
atone place while 
blowing out a 
new depression 
for it to occupy. 
From all these 
facts we learn 
why China's cli- 
mate is quite 
diverse. Though 
partly in the tor- 
rid and partly 
in the temper- 
ate zone, the 
deserts, the 
mountain ranges, and the monsoon winds have much 
effect on temperature and rainfall. 




Heads of Boxers Exposed on the 
Roads — China. 



1 8 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

The average winter temperature is 23 ° at Peking 
and 54 at Canton; the summer temperature 8o° at 
Peking and 84 ° at Canton. There are both winter and 
summer rains, but the summer rains are much heavier 
and fill the rivers, canals, and irrigating ditches. 

GETTING ABOUT IN CHINA. 

The traveler meets with many difficulties in China. 
There are few railroads ; the boats on the rivers and 
canals are not very attractive to Americans and Euro- 
peans ; camels are not pleasant riding to strangers ; the 
sedan-chair and the wheelbarrows cramp one too much 
for comfort ; and the roads are so miserable and crooked 
that walking is both unpleasant and dangerous, for a 
Chinaman wants the roads from one village to another 
to wind about so much that an evil spirit wandering in 
them will likely get lost and not find the way to the 
Chinaman's house. 

Both the officials and the common people fought the 
introduction of railroads into China. This opposition 
was due partly to the fear that it would open the way 
for missionaries and other foreigners to get in easily, 
and partly to the fear that it would anger evil spirits 
and cause them to bring great misfortunes on the peo- 
ple. So great was the opposition to" railroads twenty- 
five years ago that, even after a short one had been 
built from Shanghai to Wusung, the authorities bought 
it and destroyed it. 

Since that time a railroad has been built from Taku, at 
the mouth of the Pei-Ho River, northward to the Kaip- 
ing coal mines, and thence on into Manchuria, where it 
may connect some day with the great Trans-Siberian 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 1 9 

railway that Russia is constructing to connect her Pa- 
cific ports with Moscow and St. Petersburg, and thence 
with Berlin, Paris, and London. 

Upon this line Russia has already spent $350,000,- 
000. The Asiatic end is rapidly approaching comple- 
tion. When finished, and the connecting link with 
Taku built, a passenger may take a train in Paris, 
France, for Peking, China. The probable effect of a 
peaceful solution to the troubles now existing between 
China and other nations, in the way of opening up the 
empire, may be seen in the fact that the uncompleted 
line carried 1,075,000 passengers in 1899, 2 3 3>9^i of 
whom settled in Siberia and Manchuria. 

Another railroad runs from Taku through Tientsin 
to Peking. It was along this railroad that the allied 
armies, after destroying the Chinese forts at Taku and 
walls at Tientsin, fought the Boxers and other Chinese 
troops on the way to Peking to set the foreign ministers 
and others free. 

The railroad from Wusung to Shanghai has been re- 
built; one is partly built from Peking to Hankow; others 
are planned from Peking to Shanghai and Ningpo, from 
Hankow to Canton, from Canton to Burmah to connect 
with the English railway for the Bay of Bengal and the 
Indian Ocean, and one across Turkestan to connect with 
western Asia. Some persons think this will change 
China by the civilization of Europe and America; others 
think that the civilization of Europe and America will 
be changed by millions of Chinese missionaries and 
emigrants. 

Wherever we go in China, outside of the big coast 
cities, we must carry our own food, bedding, and ser- 



I W ' .'V' ^!ill ! ipp|| 




A LITTLE JOURNEY To CHINA. 21 

vants. The inns furnish only a room containing a bed 
consisting of a stove built out from the wall or else on 
trestles near the wall, and a fire for cooking. In the 
winter-time a fire is supposed to be built in the great 
earthen stove-bed, on top of which the traveler sleeps. 
Our bill at an inn, for lodging, beds, some rice, a little 
fire, for self and four servants, was twenty-four cents. 

The hakka is a boat much used on the canals and 
streams. Our experience with one of them is interest- 
ing. We secured a crew of five men to row us at the 
cost of $i a day for the five (20 cents a day each.) 

The boat itself is fifty feet long, eight wide, and three 
deep. It has two apartments built about the middle, 
high enough for a low person to stand up under. These 
are roofed with platted bamboo, covered with bamboo 
leaves. The partition between the two little rooms is 
of wood partly carved, partly painted. The holds are 
two or three feet deep. 

We get along about three miles an hour. Part of the 
time our crew run up the four or five feet of our curved 
prow, put their oars in the water or their poles on the 
bottom, and then come down with their bodies thrown 
so far over that we fear they will fall on their heads ; 
part of the time they fasten a rope to the prow, grasp 
the rope and trot along the bank, pulling us behind 
them; but, if a breeze is blowing the right way, they 
set up a pole and stretch out their bamboo matting or 
pieces of cloth, so that the wind may push us. A wide 
paddle, fastened on behind, is used as a rudder. 

We carry our own cook, food, and bedding, landing 
when we wish to buy food or visit places of interest. 
Our stove is an open charcoal dish, and we sometimes 



$2 



A UTTL£ JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



have the smoke from this and from the opium pipes of 
the crew, mingled with the odor of some unsavory cargo 
in the hold, the heat and the mosquitoes, to help us 
sleep when we have laid by for the night ! 

Yet the curious scenes, the varied landscape, the 





V. 1 i 



Irrigating Rice Fields. 



kJs 



quaint occupations of the people, the great number of 
villages (at one time over sixty being in view while we 
travel only three miles) — ■ all of these repay us for the 
temporary discomforts. 

Here are waterwheels, run by the labor of men or of 
buffaloes, pumping water from the river to a canal on a 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



23 



terrace. There another wheel pumps it to another canal 
on another terrace ; and so from terrace to terrace till 
the top of the bluff is reached and the stream can be 
carried away in troughs or ditches to the little farms 
and gardens surrounding the villages and cities. 




Making Vermicelli in China. 

Along the canal or in open places we find vermicelli 
makers at work, making their long strings of dough 
and hanging them up to dry. Again, close beside the 
water's edge are the walls of a city — thick and high 
and strong, with their watchtowers and gates. 

Yet very few Chinese people ever see the different 
parts of their own country. Not one in a hundred ever 



24 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

gets much beyond the village in which he or she was 
born. Their lives are largely spent in the struggle to 
get enough to eat, to keep them warm in the winter- 
time, and to make sacrifices to the gods or to their 
ancestors. 

SIQHT=SEEINQ IN SOUTHERN CHINA. 

HONGKONG. 

On our way back from Manila :;: we stop for a day at 
Hongkong (or Victoria), the English city in China 
which we found so full of interest on our way out. The 
harbor is alive, not alone with trading vessels from up 
the Chinese coast and rivers and from foreign ports, but 
with some great war ships brought here by the Boxer 
troubles, as well as with England's troop ships. 

Hongkong, we find, is the naval station for the 
British Asiatic fleet, and England maintains here a 
garrison of troops, an arsenal, docks, and foundries. 

England made war upon China, and took Hongkong 
island because the Chinese government objected to the 
sale of opium to Chinamen by English merchants. 

As we walk about the streets we. are impressed with 
the fact that Hongkong is a cosmopolitan city, for we 
meet people from every quarter of the globe, and among 
its places of worship are Buddhist temples, Christian 
churches, Mohammedan mosques, Jewish synagogues 
and Chinese pagodas. 

The shop windows or the open bazaars tempt us with 
their quaint carved ivory and teakwood, their porcelain, 

* See Little Journey to the Philippines, p. 26. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 25 

bamboo goods, silks, lacquer work, crape and beautiful 
embroideries. 

We look into the pawn shops, native theaters, public 
gardens, government house, cathedral, museum, take a 
ride on the esplanade, and then on the cable to the sum- 
mit of Victoria Peak. Here a wonderful panorama 
spreads out before us — beautiful residences on the 
terraced hillsides, odd Oriental buildings beside granite 
structures erected by Europeans, granite rocks and 
waterfalls near the sea, and in the harbor sampans and 
junks, river steamers and ocean steamers, and peaceful 
house-boats (which are the homes of 20,000 people) not 
far away from the grim ships of war. 

On our way back to the ship we stop to see an old- 
fashioned way of making sheet-lead, so much of which 
is used to line tea-chests and boxes and to wrap various 
articles both to keep in and to keep "out moisture. In 
Burope flat blocks of lead are run between powerful 
rollers, each set of rollers having less space between 
them than the preceding set, until the lead is pressed 
as thin as is desired. But the Chinese workman soft- 
ens his lead in an iron pan over his furnace, and when 
it is hot enough, covers it with several layers of unsized 
paper, and then puts it under heavy tiles so that the 
weight will press the lead out thin enough for his 
purpose. 

After a call to pay our respects to the English gov- 
ernor of the colony, who looks after the interests of his 
230,000 Oriental and 10,000 white subjects, we take the 
steamer for a seven-hour ride (90 miles) up Canton or 
Pearl River to the largest city in the Chinese Empire. 



26 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



A CITY 3,000 YEARS OLD — A WATER-CLOCK 800 YEARS 

OLD TEMPLE OE THE 5OO GODS EXAMINATION 

HALL WITH 8,000 ROOMS. 

On the south bank of the Pearl River, as we go from 
Hongkong to Canton, we pass Macao, the only Portu- 
guese settlement on the Chinese coast. It was founded 
in 1557, on a little peninsula across the neck of which 




River Front at Canton. 

the Chinese built a wall to shut out the despised for- 
eigners. It has about 70,000 inhabitants, nearly all of 
whom are Chinese ; some old forts and some attractive 
gardens. It is a sort of pleasure resort for the Hong- 
kong merchants and their families. It is also a great 
port for the shipment of opium. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 27 

But that which characterizes the city most is that it 
is one of the greatest gambling places in the Chinese 
Empire, and gambling is a vice to which almost every 
Chinaman is addicted. The workman will take the few 
cash (one-tenth of a cent) intended to purchase his dinner, 
and throw dice with the street-restaurant keeper whether 
he shall have a double dinner or go hungry; the beggar 
in the street will bet the clothing on his back, lose and 
go with nothing but a breechclout ; a man will bet the 
ox that cultivates his little patch of ground, the mother 
of his children, or his own daughter ; and in the great 
gambling rooms like those at Macao, found in all the 
Chinese cities, thousands of fan* tsien, and tael are 
changing hands almost every hour of the day. 

We are now approaching Canton (Chinese Kwangchow, 
" the city of rams "), the capital of Kwangtung province, 
a city of 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 people, more than 
100,000 of whom live in the junks in the river. 
Curious little round-faced, almond-eyed, yellow-skinned 
children, with black hair already in queues, peep out at 
us from their boat-homes as the ship goes by. 

The captain of our steamer tells us that there are no 
hotels for foreigners in Canton, but that the vessel will 
remain at anchor long enough for us to visit objects 
and places of interest. But where shall we go first? 
And what shall we see among the many interesting 
things ? 

We look off from the ship, and as far as our eyes can 
reach along the river in either direction there seem to 

* In China a little money goes a great ways, so their coins are quite small 
in value. The denominations are: the cask=^ cent; the candareen and the 
yhi7Z=about 16 cash; the mace— 10 candareens; the tsien=io fan; theneu=y 
fan; the tael= 100 candareens; the tical= 100 fan. 



2 8 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA, 

be thousands of sailing craft of every imaginable char- 
acter. We turn our gaze to the city, and its great walls 
twenty feet thick and twenty-five to forty feet high are 
six miles around, while its six hundred crooked streets 
from three to seven feet wide seem to make only a 
bewildering maze. 

A guide and interpreter comes aboard and tells us of 
one hundred and twenty-five temples or joss-houses — 
some of which are from 1,000 to 1,200 years old, and 
one of which covers seven acres of ground. He men- 
tions a pagoda five stories high ; the temple of the 500 
gods ; a famous water clock 800 years old ; the Bund of 
the Shameen, a lovely promenade in the foreign quarter, 
shaded by banyan-trees-; the Temple of Horrors, with 
great crowds of fortune tellers and beggars ; the Bud- 
dhist monasteries and nunneries with over 2,000 monks 
and nuns ; the charming flower-boats ; the Examination 
Hall; the Execution Ground ; the City Prison; the Green 
Tea Merchants' Guild Hall ; the immense godowns, for 
storing tea, silk, cassia, and sugar going out, and 
cotton, wool, food stuffs, metal goods, opium, and 
kerosene coming in ; and the famous bazaars where 
quaint curios and native articles of every kind may be 
obtained. 

Few foreigners are allowed to reside inside the city of 
Canton. They reside mostly upon the Shameen, a small 
island connected with the city by two bridges. At the 
end of these bridges is a gate, which is closed at dusk 
and guarded. In fact, all business houses in Canton are 
required to be closed and securely protected against 
thieves by the time the sun goes down. 

We get an early start ashore, where a sedan-chair, 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



29 



with a coolie in the shafts at either end, is waiting for 
us. This is by far the most common mode of traveling 
in China. The streets are so narrow and irregular, 
being often terraced with steps the whole width of the 
street, that the wheelbarrow, cart, or jinrikisha, can not 
be used in many of them. 

We find the people more kindly disposed than we 
expected, ow- 
ing to the war 
in northern 
China. Every- 
body seems to 
be too busy, 
however, t o 
think about 
troubles out- 
side. The coo- 
lies are hur- 
rying along 
with their bur- 
dens; the brass 
founders al- 
most deafen 
us with their 
din; here is 
a goldbeater 
ham me ring 

out the precious metal; there is an embroiderer stitching 
beautiful and artistic designs in many colors; elsewhere 
a bird's-nest dealer offers his delicacy at $1 to $2 an 
ounce; nearby an eating-house displays a nicely dressed, 
fat puppy, — and everywhere the remarkable colored 




Store Front in Canton. 



3Q 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



signs. These are perpendicular boards, some a foot 
wide and twenty-five feet long, with the names of the 
shops and the kinds of articles for sale in Chinese 
characters of brown, blue, green and gold, yellow, red 
and black, or orange colors. 

We enter the bazaars and curio shops. Here are 
rich jade-stones in various shades of green, cut by little 
wheels into ornaments, such as bracelets, earrings, or 
pins, and sold at fifty cents to $2,000. Rare old por- 




EXAMIN ATION HALL — C ANTON. 

celain; beautiful bronze work — the creation of marvel- 
ous patience and skill; carved ivory and teak, yellow 
with age or quaint by reason of unique and intricate 
designs — all showing great ingenuity and perseverance 
in their manufacture. 

There are stores where black-wood furniture is richly 
carved and inlaid with mother of pearl; places where 
idols are made of wood, stone, ivory, or clay, and orna- 
mented with cheap tinsel and gaudy colors, or with gold 
and fine carving and painting; embroidery rooms open 
to the street, where men, each with his own frame and 
pattern, stitch from morn till sunset on patterns of won- 
drous beauty ; and other rooms where the silk weaver 
may be seen laboriously working his hand loom. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 3 1 

Here and there are the tallest business houses in 
Canton. These, we learn, are the pawn-shops. They 
do an immense business. The Chinaman pawns his 
winter clothing in the summer, both to obtain the use 
of the money, and to have a place to store his goods. 
So with the summer clothes in winter. We go up story 
by story of narrow, dim-lighted stairways, and pass along 
small passageways on either side of which, in recepta- 
cles reaching to the ceiling, are thousands of bundles 
of every' imaginable contents. The pawnbrokers charge 
their own rates, and are usually very rich. 

We visit the great Examination Hall where, once 
every three years, candidates come to be examined for 
literary honors, by means of which they hope to obtain 
some office of profit or renown. This Hall or Court 
covers sixteen acres, and has 8,653 cells, six feet by 
three, in which the candidates are shut up from one 
to three days while passing their examinations on the 
Chinese classics. All the large cities have these halls. 
If a candidate passes creditably, he is said to "leap the 
Dragon Gate." The examiners are also shut up ; and 
as no examiner knows the name of the writer of any 
paper, his gradings are impartial. 

In the western part of the city is the Wa-lam-tsze, or 
Flower Forest Monastery of the Buddhists, in one hall 
of whose great temple are five hundred immense gilded 
images representing disciples of Buddha who have been 
deified. 

The " Temple of Horrors " we find on a street run- 
ning east and west. Here are representations of the 
Buddhist hell on the walls of the stalls. The terrible 
tortures depicted have a great influence upon the minds 



32 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

of the people, for men, women, and children are pros- 
trating themselves, burning incense or paper, exploding 



Image in Temple of the Five Hundred Gods. 

fire-crackers and in other ways seeking some blessing 
or coveted object from the idols. 

Everywhere inside are jugglers, fortune-tellers, gam- 
blers, peddlers, sellers of sweetmeats, herb doctors — 
all soliciting trade and making a perfect babel. Beg- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 33 

gars, gaunt and lean from lack of food, or hideous from 
natural or self-inflicted sores and bodily injuries, swarm 
around the doors in the belief that the desire to escape 
from the horrors of hell shown inside will make people 
more charitable. 

In visiting the Temple of the Five Genii we learn 
the legend with regard to the founding of the city of 
Canton. The story is that five genii, riding upon five 
rams, with clusters of five cereals in their hands, ap- 
peared to some early settlers, presented the grain to 
them, wished them prosperity, and then disappeared. 
The rams, so the tale runs, were changed into stone on 
the spot. And, as proof of the truth of the story, we 
are shown the identical five rough pieces of rock into 
which the rams were changed! 

From this incident Canton is called the City of Genii 
and the City of Rams, and the temple is erected in 
honor of the founding. In the tower of this temple is 
a great bell which everyone is forbidden to touch, as it 
is the belief of the people that some great calamity is 
sure to befall the city if the bell is sounded. 

We are now approaching one of the sixteen gates of 
the city. The .names of these gates show the tendency 
of the Chinese to flowery speech. There is the " Peace 
Gate," the " Eternal Rest Gate," the " Gate of Literary 
Brightness," the " Gate of Virtue," etc., etc. On this 
north wall is the " Sea-Guarding Tower," supposed to 
control such influences as may bring peace and pros- 
perity to the city. 

While enjoying our rest and the tea and refreshments 
obtained here, our eyes fall upon the Temple of the 
Goddess of Mercy upon a nearby hill. Steep flights of 



34 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



steps lead up to the shrine. Those who are sick in 
body or mind, those upon whom the sorrows or the mis- 
fortunes of life have fallen heavily, the poverty-stricken 
and the anxious-hearted — all these are found in China 
in greater numbers than anywhere else in the world, 
and they bow before this goddess whom they esteem as 
" great in pity, great in compassion, saving from mis- 
ery, saving from woe, ever regarding the cries that 
come up from the world." 



PUNISHHENTS. 

THE EXECUTION GROUND — THE ELOWER BOATS. 

While passing along one of the streets our guide 

calls our attention 
to the court of jus- 
tice and the jail. 
Before us are a num- 
ber of prisoners 
having large square 
boards resting on 
their shoulders. 
These boards are 
about three feet 
square, weigh 25 to 
75 pounds, and open 
with a hinge, so as 
to allow the head to 

go through, when 
Prisoner with Cangue. ■, ~ 

they are fastened 

like a collar around the neck. On the boards we note 

a number of Chinese characters. 




A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 35 

Our guide tells us that these boards , are called 
cangnes, that they are placed on prisoners guilty of mi- 
nor offenses, the prisoners being then allowed to go where 
they please till their sentence has expired. The char- 
acters tell what the prisoner is being punished for. No 
one can lie down to sleep while wearing a cangne, nor 
can a prisoner wash his face, or scare off a fly or a 
mosquito with his hand. Yet they can sew, or twist 
rope, or work at a number of trades so as to earn a 
living. 

Inside the jail were a number of wretched, half- 
starved, dirty prisoners, many of whom were suffering 
from punishments or from tortures to make them con- 
fess some crime. Here are a man and a woman who 
have just been bastinadoed. The woman was whipped 
on the soles of her feet and the man on the naked legs 
from the feet to the knees. The flesh is entirely raw 
from the terrible castigation. 

Nearby is a poor wretch whose thumb has been 
mashed and another whose ankle has been crushed, the 
process going on slowly, so as to force confession of 
crime. Another is hung up by his thumb and his great 
toe till the anguish will cause him to admit his guilt. 
Our guide tells us that many innocent persons confess 
because their punishment will be less than the torture; 
also that others buy substitutes to take their punish- 
ment or buy off the jailers altogether. 

From here we go to the Bxecution Ground, the place 
where criminals are beheaded. It is an open plot near 
some large potteries. Prisoners condemned to death by 
beheading are brought here in baskets. Their hands 
and feet are bound; and they are placed on their knees, 



36 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



with their necks bared and their backs to the execu- 
tioner. The headsman, with one skillful blow of his 
sharp sword, severs the head from the body. 

It is a great relief to our feelings to get away from 




Beheading a Criminal. 



these unpleasant scenes for a visit to the beautiful 
Flower Boats. These are floating nurseries having 
large apartments whose doors, windows, and sides are 
quite artistic in shape and wonderfully sculptured. 
Here flower-girls tempt us with their lovely blossoms, 
and pleasant, smiling faces. 



A UTTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 37 

The work of these Chinese florists is nothing short 
of the marvelous. We are shown trees over a hundred 
years old, and one said to be over three hundred years 
old, but which are growing in flower-pots, and have been 
so dwarfed and stunted that they are less than three 
feet high. They train flowers at their will into all 
sorts of odd shapes and designs. Besides these, we 
find a great profusion of dwarf peach trees, cultivated 
only for, their blooms, azaleas with fragrant yellow blos- 
soms, jasmines, lotus blooms, chrysanthemums, magno- 
lias, euphorbias with their graceful forms and blossoms, 
and honeysuckles and heliotropes in great profusion. A 
very small investment supplies us with all the flowers 
we can carry. 

FACTORIES —DUCK-BOATS — MAKING FANS. 

The region about Canton is well watered. The Pearl, 
or Canton, River is really the mouth of the Si-Kiang, 
on the southern point of whose delta Macao is situated. 
Bast of Canton the Bast River and west of Canton the 
North River empty into the Pearl, while the large Si- 
Kiang, or West River brings its waters from the high- 
lands of Yunnan through a large and fertile valley. 

Only fifteen miles up the river from Canton is Fat- 
shan — a city of over 500,000 people, and one of the 
chief manufacturing cities of Southern China. Here 
are made rattan and bamboo work, silk, embroidery, 
brass work, iron work, porcelain, and furniture. Here, 
as at Canton, are missions and a hospital established 
by Christian societies. 

The town of Shekwan, near by, is noted for the 
manufacture of glazed earthenware so fine in quality 



3« 



A UTTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



that many mistake it for porcelain. The glazing is 
done in green, red, white, blue, yellow, and other colors. 
In sight is also the agricultural city of Chantsan, with 
a population of over a hundred thousand. 

Passing along up the Si River the eye wanders over 
the low and wet rice lands to the tea plantations on the 
hills, the groves of mulberry trees for silkworm feeding, 




Chinese Duck Boats. 



and the roads winding up the mountain amid liquid- 
amber and fir trees. The streams from the mountains 
to the north as well as those nearer the headwaters have 
numerous cascades amid the green-clad hills, making 
many spots of great natural beauty. The people 
imagine these" hills and shady dells to be filled with 
spirits, or genii and gods, and are constantly making 
offerings to secure their good will, or to ward off those 
maliciously disposed. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 39 

But " quack, quack, quack," coming from the right 
of us and left of us, in front of us and behind us, brings 
our eyes to a fleet of duck-boats on the river. These 
great floating cages contain thousands of ducks, artifi- 
cially bred in baskets of bran or grass heated by char- 
coal furnaces, and which feed on the worms, shell-fish, 
and crabs of the rice fields or on what rice they can 
glean after the crop has been gathered. The birds 
know the call of their keeper, and hurry aboard in the 
evening when his voice is heard. 

Numerous small canals run through the lowlands, 
by which it is possible to reach villages, towns and 
cities, which are everywhere in sight. Numberless sam- 
pans, handled by women with striped handkerchiefs 
from India on their heads, are in the canals and on the 
river, as well as the duck-boats, junks, hakka-boats, and 
small vessels on their way up to Wuchau, a city of 
200,000 people, two hundred and fifty miles up the Si- 
Kiang River. 

On one side we see the evergreen banyan tree, whose 
widespreading branches are said to live for several cen- 
turies after the parent stem is dead. Not far away, near 
Kong-mun, we see where palm-leaf fans come from. 
Hundreds of acres are planted with fan-palms, there 
being from a thousand to five thousand trees to the acre. 
The trees begin to yield good fan-palms when six to 
eight years old, each tree furnishing five to fifteen 
palms a year for over a hundred years. 

The thicker the trees are planted, the smaller and 
finer the fans are. The coarse palms, not suited for 
fans, are called pung-liu^ and are used for thatching 
boats and booths, for making coarse mats, and also for 



4o 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



making cheap rain-coats. The older trees sometimes 
produce immense palms five or six feet long, and two 
to four feet broad. Servants may be seen carrying 
these over wealthy persons in the cities to protect 
them from the glare and heat of the sun. 

The process of making fans out of the palms is 

shown us. The green 
leaves are carried in bun- 
dles to the factory, where 
they are spread in the 
sun by day and placed in 
stacks under weights un- 
til they are well dried. 
The leaves are then 
trimmed (the edges being 
saved to make rain-coats) 
and are fired over sulphur 
fumes to make them white 
and smooth. The stems 
are now trimmed and pol- 
ished, and women at the 
factory or at home are set 
to work hemming the fans 
at ten to twenty cash (two 
to three cents) a dozen. 
Those of finer quality are now turned over to artists, 
who paint on them birds, flowers, mottoes, landscapes, 
men and women, etc. 

At the head of navigation on the Si River, is Wuchau, 
a treaty port ; beyond lies the mountainous province of 
Yunnan, rich in mines of coal, copper, and gold, and 
grazing lands, but poor in agricultural resources. 




Palm that Produces Fans. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



41 



CITY OF FUCHAU — CHINESE DWELLINGS. 

From Canton we travel 360 miles northeast along 
the coast to Fuchau, situated on a plain twenty-two 
miles from the sea up the Min River. It is the capital 
of the Province of Fukien, and has a population esti- 
mated at 650,000. ^ 

Fuchau is of . s \ x 

interest for many- 
reasons. It is the 
residence of one of 
the leading gov- 
ernors; it is a 
treaty-port ; it is in 
the vicinity of a 
great tea-produc- 
ing region, especi- 
ally black tea, and 
ships out over 100,- 
000,000 pounds of 
tea annually; and 
it has an immense 
examination hall, 
or" court, having 
10,000 little stalls 
for students, ex- 
aminers and 
guards, and where 
candidates must come to pass their examinations for 
the "second degree." 

As our steamer passes up the Min River, we are de- 
lighted with the beautiful scenery or deeply interested 




m 

A Chinese Pagoda. 



42 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

in the little gardens and farms cultivated on terraces to 
the very tops of the hills. No ground is allowed to go 
to waste in China. 

In the river are hundreds of house-boats which, as at 
Canton, are the only homes of thousands of people. 
Spanning the river to an island is a massive granite 
bridge of fifty-one arches. It has been standing for 
nine or ten centuries, and the natives, with their usual 
flowery speech, have named it " The Bridge of Ten 
Thousand Ages." A great many little shops are built 
on the bridge, and all sorts of articles are for sale in 
them. 

We see again the narrow streets; the little stores 
and the bazaars all open to the sidewalk; the tall, nar- 
row signboards with their many-colored announcements; 
the eaves of the houses projecting a foot or more, with- 
out any troughs, so as to thoroughly wet every one 
unfortunate enough to be in the streets during a rain 
storm ; here and there steps in the streets to a higher 
level ; and everywhere, especially in the poorer quar- 
ters, swarms of dirty, hungry, sleepy-looking people 
mingling with those of the better class. 

The guide recommended to us is an unusually 
shrewd one. We have changed some of our money 
into cash and candareens on the advice of our guide that 
ten cash (one cent) will open the doors and the hearts 
of most common people, while tv/o or three candareens 
(six to ten cents) will be a handsome gift for the well- 
to-do. For we desire to see the houses of the people. 

There are no yards. The houses are joined to each 
other both as a matter of economy and as a protection 
against thieves. Occasionally we find a paved court 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 43 

behind the houses for drying clothes, making vermi- 
celli, or raising pigs. Refuse of all sorts is piled in a 
corner of the court or in the street in front, till oppor- 
tunity comes for it to be taken out and spread on the 
gardens or fields as a fertilizer. 

The same house is used by the same family for gen- 
erations, passing down from father to son. The house 
of the poor man is but a hovel, with a door to enter, no 
windows, and a dim light coming in through an open- 
ing in the roof, covered with little shells such as we saw 
in the Philippines. The walls are usually of straw and 
mud, though sometimes of wood. The floor is of earth 
pounded hard, and here filth has been accumulating for 
years and years. The place kept cleanest in every 
room or house is the corner for the joss and the wor- 
ship of ancestors. 

The walls are black with mold, grime and smoke ; and, 
as there is no ventilation, as the people eat, sleep, keep 
goats, pigs, and chickens, and cook all in one room, 
there is always a stench, whether during the heat of 
summer or the cold of winter. Vermin are everywhere, 
especially in the half-rotted mats or skins on the trestles 
beside the wall, on which planks are stretched to serve 
as beds. There is a small table, a few pots, a little 
earthen charcoal stove, a shelf or two, and a few bun- 
dles ; for poor Chinamen must live from day to day on 
a few cents; or, in case of inundation, a poor crop, or an 
epidemic, must starve by thousands. 

We are next shown the home of a well-to-do China- 
man. We pass through an opening in a high wall 
along the narrow street and enter a small court, which 
is open to the air and sun. Here we find a small well, 



44 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



flowers, and vines. Bedrooms for the father, the sons, 
and the grandsons, with their wives and children, are on 




Home of a Wealthy Chinaman. 



either side of the court, in some cases only separated 
from each other by mats which hang by ropes from the 
rafters. 

A large room at the end serves for dining room, sit- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 45 

ting room, and hall for the worship of ancestors together 
with an image of some specially favored god. Here 
and there, suspended from the walls are proverbs or 
quotations from the sages. On the far wall are some 
shelves for family goods, and here, or wherever room 
can be found, we see farming tools, dye-pots, washtubs, 
looms, seeds, and various odds and ends. 

The contrast between the wretched homes of the poor 
and the scarcely less uncomfortable houses of the mid- 
dle class on the one hand, and the luxurious homes of 
the wealthy merchants and officials, is a striking one. 
Here is a large building, surrounded by a high wall, 
within which are gardens laid out in a most grotesque 
manner. It is simply wonderful how much is done for 
amusement or pleasure in these small gardens. 

There is a little bridge just large enough for us to go 
up one side and down the other. A few steps bring us 
to artificial rocks on the summit of which a miniature 
summer house is built for mere sport, as there is no 
way to get up to it, and it is too small for anybody ex- 
cept dolls or fairies. In the side of our artificial hill is 
a diminutive grotto, overgrown with the vines planted 
here and there in hidden recesses, and forming a cool 
retreat for a porcelain figure of a fat Chinaman taking 
his ease. 

A little farther away is a small pond in which are 
beautiful lotus and other water plants, and, on the other 
side, an artificial lake, with diminutive boats and aquatic 
birds floating leisurely upon the surface, while gold 
and silver fish sport in the spots where streams from 
the mouths of imaginary monsters are emptying into 
the little lake. 



4 6 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



Before entering the house, we stop to admire the rare 
and beautiful birds in the aviary. This bird house is 
of gilt latticework, having bells and other ornaments 
hanging from the corners, with small baths and artifi- 
cial trees inside for the use of the feathered inhabitants. 

The walls 
of the house 
are of blue 
bricks, at 
one point 
inset with 
glazed tiles 
of grotesque 
figures or 
scenes, and 
in other 
places painted with 
landscapes and designs 
in brilliant colors. The 
walls inside are adorned with 
carvings, paintings, and tap- 
estry — scenes in history, birds, 
flowers, — and scrolls with max- 
ims from Confucius, Mencius, 
and other sages. The roof- 
beams are also carved into 
unique designs, while the floors 
are of colored tiles, here and 
there arranged in artistic or droll designs. On the 
floors are the skins of animals, or matting in various 
colors and patterns. 

The furniture is of ebony, ivory, marble, granite, 





Regular Army Archer 
— China. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 47 

mahogany, or bamboo — ornamented with carved de- 
signs of dragons, lions, serpents, and imaginary mon- 
sters, inlaid with mother-of-pearl or made bright with 
gilt. From the ceilings large silk lanterns are hung. 
On these are painted or embroidered scenes or inscrip- 
tions in gold or silver. 

As in the poorest house, the most important place is 
that set aside for the worship of ancestors and the pro- 
pitiation of the gods. In the rich merchant's house 
which we are now inspecting, this is a large hall. Here 
is the household shrine, and here is the image of a 
joss or god, decked off with much finery, and having 
about him a profusion of tinsel and artificial flowers. 
Here family worship takes place at certain hours, the 
incense kept always burning before the joss filling the 
room with its odor; here the owner keeps the coffin 
which he is one day to occupy ; and here any member 
of the family who is to engage in any undertaking or 
enterprise comes to make offerings, and to ask for a favor- 
able outcome. Along the walls of this hall of ances- 
tors are arranged tablets containing the family history 
or notable deeds of their ancestors, interspersed with 
quotations from philosophers and sages. 

Adjoining the hall of ancestors is the library. The 
books are of large size and are bound in silk or satin, 
with gold brocade, and silver and gold tinsel — evidently 
being placed here more for display than for use. The 
doorways are hung with bamboo gauze screens, painted 
in colors, and with silken curtains. The latter are 
looped back when privacy is not desired. 

The bedrooms are a great surprise to us. Comfort in 
China is evidently viewed differently from comfort in 



48 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

the United States. The bedrooms are small and con- 
tain only the bedstead, a few chairs, and a press for 
clothes. The bed is a raised wooden platform on which 
is a thin rattan mat. In winter this is exchanged for a 
thin mattress filled with cotton. There are no sheets 
or blankets, but spreads of silk prettily embroidered. 
These spreads, we are told, are wadded in winter. The 
pillows are of rattan, stuffed hard, and covered with 
silk. Possibly we could come to enjoy these by experi- 
ence. 

TARTARS — PORCELAIN — BLUE COTTON — TEA. 

Passing down the street our guide tells us a number 
of interesting things about Fuchau. As in many other 
cities of the empire, the people are partly pure Chinese 
and partly Manchus or Tartars. The Tartars are usu- 
ally the soldiers of the empire, live indolent lives, and 
are supported in part by taxes levied on other citizens. 
They are usually the most ignorant, the vainest, and 
most intolerant people met, yet full of energy. 

There are some large porcelain manufactories here, 
using nearly four hundred ovens, or baking furnaces, 
constantly. This porcelain is noted for its brilliant 
tints and shades of green. The ovens also turn out a 
large quantity of cheap earthenware, which is exported 
with the porcelain. ■ 

The blue cotton, manufactured and dyed at Fuchau, 
is celebrated for its durability and its stable color. 
Numerous tea farms are found in the rich agricultural 
country adjoining the city — the black-tea farms being 
among the mountains, two or three thousand feet above 
the sea level. In the northwest part of the Fukien prov- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



49 



ince is the famous Bohea-tea district. Near the Tartar 
section of the city are the noted sulphur baths, while far 
beyond the walls and at the base of the foothills are 
productive orchards and groves. Boat-women are at the 
river's edge, with headdresses of blue, white, and red 




A Wayside Grave — China. 
artificial flowers, each eager to dispose of her produce, 
consisting of ducks, chickens, fruits, vegetables, or pure 
water. 

NINQPO — CHINESE BURIAL CUSTOMS. 

On our way north to Shanghai, we stop for a little 
while at Ningpo, which is 850 miles southeast of Pekin, 
and only twelve miles from the sea on the Tae-pae River. 
It contains 300,000 people, and manufactures some very 
fine qualities of silk and embroidery, inlaid furniture, 
and bronzes. 

Upon the river is a very ingenious bridge resting 0:1 
4 



50 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

floats a short distance apart, so that the bridge rises 
and falls with the tide backing up the river, and thus 
allows boats to pass under it at all times. We secure 
a sedan-chair, and take a short trip into the valleys to 
learn something of Chinese burial customs. 

As we saw in the house of the wealthy merchant at 
Fuchau, a Chinaman consults the gods and the fortune 
tellers with' regard to whether what he proposes to do 
will result luckily or unluckily. If a soothsayer tells 
him that the time is not propitious for the burial of his 
dead father, he will keep the corpse in the house or de- 
posit it in a wayside grave above ground until he is 
sure the spirits will allow the dead to rest in peace, or 
the spirit of the dead man will itself remain in the 
spirit world, and not come back to trouble the living. 

For 4,000 years the Chinese people have divided time 
into cycles of twelve and of ten, and great cycles of 
sixty years. The cycle of twelve is represented by 
twelve animals : the rat, the ox, the tiger, the hare, the 
dragon, the serpent, the horse, the goat, the ape, the 
cock, the dog, and the hog. The cycle of ten is repre- 
sented by five substances : wood, fire, earth, metal, and 
water. Every year, month, day, and hour has thus a 
double designation, and in this way the fortune teller 
makes his horoscope, and indicates lucky or unlucky 
times. Thus, if the signs for a burial should indicate 
both fire and water, they would be unfavorable, for 
water puts out fire. If the signs indicate tiger and 
goat or tiger and metal, they would be unfavorable ; for 
the tiger is likely to eat the goat or to be killed by a 
metal weapon. 

The cemetery is frequently made in the face of a 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



51 



mountain, the graves with horseshoe-shaped fronts 
being horizontal vaults, or openings. On the second 
month of the Chinese year, the graves all over the em- 
pire are honored by visits of the descendants, who 
burn, or allow to escape, fluttering pieces of gilt paper, 
and also go through forms of worship. If a man fails 
for three years in succession to thus honor the graves 
of his ancestors, their right to occupy their graves is 




Chinese; Funeral Car. 

rfeited, and the remains are taken up and thrown on 
manure pile or buried in the field of the outcasts. 
We meet a funeral procession. The coffin is carried 

the center of the funeral car, which is borne by four 
'olies specially dressed for the occasion. We are 
owded into the widest space that can be found ; for the 
Car of Death " has the right of way. White is promi- 
snt in the decorations, for it is the color of mourning 

China, being an unlucky color. The mourners even 
ive white threads braided in their hair. 

A band of music precedes the procession, and mourn- 
■s, hired for the purpose, fill the air with their sorrow- 



52 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

ful cries or loud protestations of grief. The more of 
this noisy sorrow one pays to have made, the more evi- 
dence has he shown of filial piety — even though he 
has sold his own son or betrothed his sister for money 
to pay the dead man's debts and to duly honor his 
burial. 

At the cemetery, before the coffin is lowered, beans, 
peas, and grain are thrown into the grave. Pieces of 
paper cut into shapes to represent clothing, tools, and 
other articles, are burned; for these are supposed to be 
transformed into things needed in the spirit world. The 
spirit is supposed to leave the body for the land of 
shades on the seventh day, and a three-years' supply is 
burned for its use. 

In many of the villages and towns which thickly dot 
the country, there seem to be but two public buildings. 
One of these, near the center of each town, is the 
Ancestral Hall, which is ornamented with carved work, 
designs of flowers and birds in porcelain, stone lions or 
dragons. The names of the ancestors of the residents 
are written on little wooden tablets, and fill shelf after 
shelf in the hall. There are sixty-four festivals a year, 
in which the ancestors are honored by various kinds of 
worship, burning gilt paper, firing crackers, etc. 

The other public building sure to be found is the 
temple with its various gods — for one part of the com- 
munity favors one god, another part a different god. 
Here incense is kept burning, and here offerings of 
meats, fruit, cakes, or whatever may be supposed to 
please the god whose favor is sought. A Chinaman 
never buys a wife, starts on a journey, digs a well 
builds a house, buries a corpse, mends a roof, sets up 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 53 

a bride's bedstead, or goes to war without first consult- 
ing a soothsayer (a blind fortune teller is considered 
best), or making an offering to secure the favor or to 
ward off the malice of a god. 

In one town is a theatrical stage, put up under a 
shed by a wealthy citizen, who has hired a company of 
actors to come and play for the amusement of the peo- 
ple. The play frequently lasts all day. The chief 
god of the town is carried all over the place, and to 
near-by villages,* in a decorated chair. He is then given 
a place of honor as chief spectator of the play ! 

'•THE CHILD OF THE OCEAN" AND SHANGHAI. 

On our way northward from Ningpo, we soon reach 
the mouth of what may be termed the " Father of 
Waters " in China. For the name " Yangtse-kiang " 
means " child of the ocean." This great river rises in 
the highlands of Thibet, and flows 3,000 miles before 
reaching the sea. It forms China's great highway, for 
large ocean steamers plow its deep waters for a thou- 
sand miles from the coast, or as far as from New York 
to Chicago; and, beyond this, smaller boats go a thou- 
sand miles farther 

The tributaries of the Yangtse River, such as the 
Han and the Toong on the north, the Kan, the Hong, 
the Yuen, and the Woo from the south, drain vast 
areas of central China, and bring down to the cities on 
its banks or to the sea the produce of millions of people. 

We cross Hang-Chow Bay, at the head of which is 
the city of Hang-Chow, having a population of over 
500,000. It is at the southern end of the Grand Canal. 
We hurry on to Shanghai, the principal commercial 




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A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 55 

city of Northern China, and the one that has the larg- 
est foreign settlement in the Orient. 

Shanghai was founded in the thirteenth century. In 
1544 a great wall was built around it. In 1843 foreign- 
ers began to locate here. It is thirteen miles up the 
Whangpoo River, 70 miles from the mouth of the 
Yangtse-kiang River (though really its seaport), 870 
miles from Hongkong, where our trip in China began, 
and 400 miles from Nagasaki, Japan. It has a popu- 
lation of 400,000, five to ten thousand of whom are 
foreigners, and it is one of the stopping points for the 
Pacific steamships — -whether from America, from Eu- 
rope, or from Australia. 

The scene, as we enter the harbor and pass up the 
river, is one of great life and activity. Two or three 
thousand trading vessels and junks are in sight, besides 
innumerable house-boats and other small craft. Lying 
floating in the harbor are also American, English, 
French, Japanese, and German men-of-war. Along the 
river is the broad Bund road or street, on either side 
of which we see fine buildings, some of them of stone, 
and five or six stories high. Three canals lead up from 
the river into the heart of the city, and from these 
smaller canals branch off, and connect with the rivers 
and creeks in the low country about the city. 

Instead of at once taking jaunts to visit the many 
interesting spots in this " Paris of the Far East," we 
obtain a secure spot where we can rest, and study the 
people. Our guide is willing to sit and . answer ques- 
tions so long as we pay him for his time, and so we 
begin with a little chap in a sling on the back of his 
sister, though she appears to be only ten years old. 



56 A LlfTXE JOURNEY >fO CHINA. 

He lias black hair and eyes, the latter being almond- 
shaped and slanting. His skin is yellow. He has just 
been taken out of a basket hung by cords from the top 
of the room at home, and fed with rice, though as yet 
without teeth. 

" That youngster," says our guide, "had his head 
shaved in spots when he was a month old. He is over 
ioxir months old, for at that age his head is shaved 
clean. When he is three years old, the hair on the 
crown of his head will be allowed to grow for a queue. 
About this time he will be able to toddle about, will be 
given a straw hat, loose cotton trousers, and a loose cot- 
ton jacket, and a little bamboo basket put into his hands. 
He immediately sets out to hunt for fuel or food. 

" ( You will be punished,' he is taught, 'if you steal, 
if you do not respect the old , if you are not diligent and 
saving, and if you are so dull as to be caught in a lie.' 
Diplomacy is taught him from his birth, and diplomacy 
means being able to conceal your feelings and your 
purpose so as to deceive even the shrewdest. 

"When he is a little older, he will be taught at 
school if his parents can afford to pay the teacher. If 
not, he is put to work, for, whatever faults they may 
have, the Chinese are an industrious people. Garden- 
ing, farming, making toys, kites, tops, lanterns or um- 
brellas ; making fans out of paper, bamboo, silk, feathers, 
or sandalwood; carving, sculpture, painting, inlaying, 
making lacquer work ; carpentering, boat-building, mak- 
ing cheap pottery or finer porcelain and China ware — 
in all these things he is a patient and careful learner. 
How well he executes we shall see by and by, when 
we examine the art stores." 



A LITTTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 57 

We look up, and seem to see the future man in 
a round-faced Chinaman who passes us. His eyes 
are small and almond-shaped. He has heavy brows, 
but few eyelashes. His cheek-bones are prominent, 
his nose is small, his body is of medium size, and his 
feet are not large. His crown is shaven, except a spot 
on top. The straight, coarse, black hair growing here 
is platted into a queue, and allowed to hang down his 
back from under his straw hat. He has on a short 
jacket, underneath which is a loose shirt, the tails of 
which hang outside his loose pantaloons. He has on 
coarse stockings and shoes, and, while talking to his 
friend, stoops down, pulls a fan out of his stocking, and 
begins to fan himself. 

At our request the interpreter calls him, and asks 
if he is married and has children. He answers that 
he is married and has two children, naming two boys. 
"But have you no girls?" asks the interpreter. His 
reply is " Four " — but with a shrug that implies they 
don't count. Yet, when we ask if he will take some 
little presents to the girls, the brightening of his face 
shows that the common story that he does not have 
any affection for his girls misrepresents him. 

A CHINESE GIRL AND HER WEDDING. 

This leads us to go to see the Chinese girl and her 
mamma. As in Canton and Fuchau, we find that a few 
cash or little presents go a good ways toward friendly 
answers to our questions. We meet a little girl. Her 
head has been shaved like her brother's, except that two 
tufts are left instead of one. The hair from these is 
braided like her brother's. She can not be more than 



58 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

five years old, yet she too has a little basket, and is 
going to the hills or to the quay to hunt for fuel. 

We stop at a little home which is fortunate enough 
to have three rooms. The mother hobbles to the door 
supported by her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law 
was too poor to have aristocratic feet; but her husband 
prospered, and so their son was able to buy a wife with 
feet only three inches long. This new wife has had 
five girl children. Three of them were unpromising, 
and were killed by the mother, as the family was 
greatly disappointed that she should bear no sons. 

One daughter is now seven years old, and is going 
through the torture of having her feet made fash- 
ionable like her mother's. And this is how it is being 
done: Strips of flexible cloth two inches wide and eight 
or ten feet long are bound round her foot, the end of 
the strip being placed on the instep. The strip is now 
carried over the four smaller toes, drawing them down 
on the sole of the foot. The strip passes on under the 
foot, over the instep and round the heel, drawing the 
toes down tighter, bringing them nearer the heel and 
arching the instep. 

Once or twice a month the bandaged foot is placed in 
a bucket of hot water, soaked, the bandages removed, 
the dead skin and sometimes a toe or part of the foot 
which putrefied and sloughed off taken away, the foot 
sprinkled with alum, and quickly rebandaged tightly so 
as to deaden the pain. The little girl has now been 
suffering this torture for a year, but expects the pain to 
stop in a few months. She sleeps on her back, when 
she can sleep at all, crosswise of the bed, with her feet 
dangling over the edge, so that the weight and the 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



59 



But we can hear her 



Here is the picture 



i \%*e»«so«' ,, >« "«ltt. 



pressure may deaden the nerves, 
moaning with pain. 

Her older sister is now fifteen 
of the older sister's 
foot as it is and as 
it would be nat- 
urally. She has 
o n embroidered 
satin shoes, not 
over three inches 
long. They have 
brightly painted 
heels. Her ankles 
have fine silk 
bandages around 
them, which are 
partly covered by 
her pantalets. She 
has just been mar- 
ried, though she never saw her husband and he never 
saw her until after the marriage. Here is how it was 
managed. 

A CHINESE WEDDING. 

A matchmaker praised her to the parents of the young 
man, and made known to her father that the young 
man's parents would give $50 for a wife for their son. 
When the betrothal price was accepted, it was sent by 
the matchmaker, done up in red paper. Red cards 
expressing friendship and good wishes were then ex- 
changed by the families, and preparations for the wed- 
ding begun. 




Chinese Woman's 

Foot and Shoes, 

as They Are. 



As Her Foot and 

Shoe Should Be 

Naturally. 



6o 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



There is a puppet show before the home of the bride- 
groom, paid for by his father. Indoors, there are racks 
on the two sides of the main room, filled with cakes. A 
table in the center of the room is also piled with cakes 
and confectionery for the guests. Scrolls containing 
congratulations written by friends are hung on the 
...x ,/, walls. A band of music 

is playing, and passers-by 
go in to hear the music, 
see the festive arrange- 
ments, and partake of the 
hospitality provided. 

The evening before her 
marriage the bride was 
bathed in water with 
twelve kinds of flowers, 
and dressed in red silk 
trousers, a green silk pet- 
ticoat, and a blue silk 
tunic. Over all these a 
scarlet robe was thrown, 
covering her from head to foot. Her hair is full of orna- 
ments, and over her face are two veils, one of silk fringe 
over another of red gauze. 

The matchmaker and another old woman accompa- 
nied her from her home. She is not to return or see any 
of her family for four months. Arriving at the father-in- 
law's house, she is put in a small room where she stays 
until she is brought out and made to sit with folded 
hands by her husband's side at the wedding breakfast 
— he alone eating. He wears green trousers, a brown 
tunic, and a black hat with a red tassel. 




Hair Dressed in the Fashion — 
China. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 6 1 

The mistress of ceremonies, who may be the match- 
maker, fed the groom tidbits with chopsticks, and pre- 
dicted a male child in a year, that the new family would 
have seven literary sons and three beautiful daughters, 
as also great prosperity in business. When the meal 
was finished, the bride retired to her little room, the 
groom following her and removing the red gauze veil. 
She was then placed on a chair at the foot of the bridal 
couch, with her wardrobe, consisting of over 300 gar- 
ments, about her, and there she remained the rest of 
the day, silent and motionless. 

That evening the father-in-law gave a wedding feast, 
all the invited guests being men. There were thirty- 
two courses, consisting of duck, chicken, pork, fish, 
chestnuts boiled in sweet soup, olives, wine, etc. Musi- 
cians played, but no one talked. The mistress of cere- 
monies handed round tea on a tray, each guest partaking 
and at the same time dropping in the tray ten to one 
hundred cash (two to ten cents) for the mistress of 
ceremonies and the matchmaker. After the men were 
through, the women and children ate what was left. 

The bride was then exhibited to the visitors, who 
were free to make humorous or other comments, wish 
her happiness, many sons, etc. The next morning, the 
bride joined the new family in worship of its ancestors, 
and some of the good things reserved from the feast are 
sent to her family. 

In her future life, she does not eat with her husband 
— the women of the family eating after the men are 
through. She does not go on the street with him. She 
can not leave home often, on account of her useless feet, 
and she rarely ever sees any other place than the village 



62 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



in which she was born. She may be divorced for scolding, 
for infidelity, for leprosy, for disobedience to her hus- 
band's parents, for theft, or for striking her husband — 

though he is 
privileged to 
beat her to 
death for any 
real or imagi- 
nary offense. 
But he cannot 
divorce her, 
if her parents 
are dead. 

The women 
spend their 
time in rear- 
ing chickens, 
pigs, or ducks; 
weaving mats, 
spinning silk, 
sewing hats or 
garments, ma- 
king tapestry 
or lace, or 
spooling the 
yarn for older 

women to weave into cloth ; picking cotton, feeding silk- 
worms, cooking, washing, or carrying burdens — for few 
of the Manchu women bind up their feet, as also few of 
the poorest Chinese women. If her husband dies, she 
usually stays in her father-in-law's house, a second mar- 
riage being considered a reproach, though not forbidden. 




Bride and Groom 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 63 

A CHINESE SCHOOL. 

We have already seen at Canton and at Fuchau the 
great halls with their thousands of little rooms for the 
examination of students. From these, however, a 
coolie's descendants to the third generation are debarred. 
There are no public schools in China. There are pri- 
vate schools for boys, but very few for girls. For a 
year's tuition the teacher is paid 2,000 to 6,000 cash 
($2 to $6). Only one man in a hundred in China can 
read, and hardly one woman in a thousand. 

We visit a boy T s school. As the pupils come in, they 
bow to the teacher. They also bow to him when leav- 
ing school, or to a stranger entering. They sit on 
little benches or squat on their heels, or sit on the floor. 
On the walls we see the following mottoes : — 

" Diseases enter by the mouth; misfortunes issue from it. " (Don't talk 

too much.) 
"A race-horse can not catch a word once uttered." (Be careful what 

you say.) 
" Don't tie your shoe in a melon-patch." (Caution.) 
"All ten fingers can not be of the same length." (Contentment. ) 
"No peace for the mouth when one tooth is aching." (Mutual 

dependence.) 

The lessons begin, and there is a perfect babel, for 
every boy studies at the top of his voice. His only 
studying is committing to memory, for he has from 
2,000 to 10,000 characters to learn before he can read 
well. He does not learn his letters but his words, for 
there are no letters in the Chinese language. 

Here is a little fellow about seven years old with a 
book in his hand. He begins to read on the last page 
first, reads down instead of across, and begins with the 
last column and reads back to the left. The last row 



6 4 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



in his book is the first to be read as well as the last 
page being the first page. When he thinks he has his 
lesson committed, he goes up to the teacher, turns his 
back, and begins to recite aloud what he has committed. 
If he does not have to be prompted, he is praised and 
allowed to practice writing, which he does with a camel's 
hair brush. He first traces the characters through 
thin paper; but must afterward 
make them from memory. Bach 
character is a word and does not 
represent a sound, as our letters 
do, but an idea. The writing 
has nothing to do with the pro- 
nunciation. In fact, scholars in 




3fcSO' 



China write in one language and talk in another ; and 
people in different provinces can read each other's 
writing when they can not understand each other much 
if any better than they can understand us. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 65 

The Chinese books are mostly made up of the say- 
ings of their sages, religious teachers, or philosophers. 
Few of them are by one author — even when his name 
is given. They are growths — one writer adding his 
writing to those of another — for the books are pre- 
served not for the sake of the author, but for the sake 
of the contents. If any particular author is specially 
bright, his name is given to that particular volume in 
the series. 

Among the greatest of their classics are the sayings 
of Confucius and Mencius; histories, which have many 
myths and extravagant stories ; and a book or series 
called the Cheung Hsii Ching, or Book of Fullness and 
Emptiness. This treats of the first cause of things, 
called The Uncreated, The Changeless, The Trans- 
former, and gives the four steps of creation as The 
Great Calm, The Great Inception, The Great Begin- 
ning, and The Great Concretion or Gathering Together. 

A TRIP UP THE YANQTSE RIVER. 

We find many beautiful places, some nice drives, 
and numerous fine business houses, public buildings 
and residences in Shanghai. The three principal drives 
are, the Bund along the riverside; the Maloo, which 
leads out to the bubbling wells ; and the Sickaway Road. 
The cherry trees in full blossom along the avenues 
make a charming sight. 

The shops and bazaars are full of rich fabrics, inter- 
esting paintings, wonderful bronzes, and other ware 
which show that the, Chinese artists and artizans, 
while perhaps lacking in imagination, yet have a gen- 
ius and a skill not equaled by those of any other coun- 
5 



66 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



try. The blending of colors, whether in painting, in 
porcelain, in embroidery, or in tapestry, is done with a 
rare perception of harmony. 

We visit the famous Jewelers' Guild Hall, the Race 
Course, the Horse Bazaar, the Warm Baths, the Fruit 
Markets, the Theaters, and end up with a visit to the 
floating tea gardens. These are buildings upon rafts 
in the river, fixed up in elegant style, and the Chinese 
waiters, the hanging lanterns, the many quaintly 
dressed people, the delicious tea and cakes — all leave 




a lasting and pleasant impression of this greatest of 
Chinese commercial cities. 

We are off now for a trip up the Yangtse River and 
across the country to Thibet. One thing impresses us 
everywhere — and that is, that China does not change. 
Things are now almost the same that they were 2,000 
or 3,000 years ago. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 6j 

The little houses, though mere hovels, have been 
used by the same family for generations. The same 
little piece of ground, worth $400 to $600 an acre, has 
been cultivated from father to son for a thousand years. 
Stone walls are around the houses, the villages, and the 
cities, as they were at the time of Christ. 

The little shops, closed on three sides, the fourth 
open to the front, with the purchaser standing on the 
street and asking for what he wishes ; the canals with 
low bridges that interfere with the very purpose for 
which the canals were built, because high bridges are 
thought to bring misfortune on those living near ; the 
roads from one village to another so narrow and intri- 
cate that a guide is necessary even in going a mile, be- 
cause it is thought evil spirits without a guide will get 
lost in the road and not find their way to the houses; 
— all these things show the unchangeableness of the 
people, who feel it the highest duty to do as their 
ancestors did. 

As we pass up the river, we go by the city of Chin- 
kiang, having a population of 150,000, and note in the 
river men fishing with cormorants, the birds being 
trained to dive and catch fish and bring them to their 
owners on boats near by. If a bird catches a fish larger 
than he can well handle, another bird comes quickly 
to his assistance. Other men stand in the water 
switching about till they scare fish to the bottom, then 
dive and catch them. 

Some distance beyond is Nanking, 130 miles from the 
mouth of the river. This is a city of 500,000 (some 
say 1,000,000), the former capital of China, and once 
containing a porcelain tower, a summer palace, and the 



68 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

tombs of the Chinese kings. These were destroyed 
during the Taeping Rebellion (1853-64). It is famous 
for its manufacture of nankeen, satins, and silks. 

Soon we come to Kukiang, near the mouth of the 
Kan River, a southern tributary of the Yangtse. Not 
far away is the beautiful Poyang Lake. Kukiang has 
a population of 100,000. We watch, from the deck of 
the steamer, men and boys on the banks who are flying 
kites shaped like birds, fishes, boxes, dragons and ser- 
pents ; and we are interested in a man on the quay who 
carries birds on perches, and throws seeds in the air 
which the birds dart after and catch. 

Farther up, on opposite banks of the great river, are 
Wuchang, a city of 450,000 and Hankow, a city of 
1,000,000. 

GREATEST RIVER=TRAFFIC CENTER IN THE WORLD. 

Near the former city is the mouth of the Han, the 
largest tributary of the Yangtse, and which is naviga- 
ble for hundreds of miles. Wuchang, with Hanyang 
right at the mouth of the Han, and Hankow opposite, 
are the center of trade both for near and far-distant 
provinces, and have the largest river traffic of any 
cities in the world. 

At Hankow are car-works covering twenty acres of 
ground, also immense brass furnaces. In the vicinity 
are fine deposits of coal and iron. Not far beyond is 
the Toong-Ting fresh water lake, the largest in China, 
— so that this region is ultimately to be the greatest 
railroad, manufacturing, and commercial center in the 
empire. 

Hundreds of cities, towns, and villages are in sight 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 69 

on either bank of the Yangtse as our boat passes along, 
for this region is densely populated. By and by we 
reach Cheng-tu, the capital of Sechwan province and 
a city of 800,000 people. It is situated in a rich allu- 
vial plain, over 1,500,000 acres in extent, and which is 
irrigated throughout by canals and ditches constructed 
over 2,000 years ago. 

At the head of navigation for large vessels is Ichang, 
nearly 1,000 miles from the mouth of the river. Above 
this city are the wonderful gorges which rival in pic- 
turesqueness and sublime grandeur those on the Rhine 
or on the Colorado, for the river dashes through deep 
cafions and amid great boulders with a rush and a roar 
that fill us with awe. 

In a smaller boat we pass on up the river four hun- 
dred miles further to Chunking, a city of 250,000, sit- 
uated at the confluence of the Siao-ho (" Little River") 
with the Yangtse. The first foreign boat to reach this 
city was a British steamer which ascended the rapids in 
March, 1898. Here we abandon the river and are soon 
traveling through the towns on the elevated and rough 
trade route leading westward to Thibet's capital. 

On the latter part of our trip we see some of the 
ways in which the Chinese amuse themselves. Some 
children on board were spinning tops, playing with 
jackstones, or tossing at shuttlecock. Men were pitch- 
ing cash, as our newsboys do pennies, throwing dice or 
playing cards; others had trained crickets and quails to 
fight like the gamecocks we saw in Cuba and the Phil- 
ippines; and a traveling troup of jugglers performed 
most astonishing feats. In one of these a dry seed was 
planted in a flower-pot and covered with a cloth. Soon 



7o 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



the cloth began to rise, while the juggler moved his fan 
to and fro and muttered incantations. Directly he lifted 
the cloth and there was a plant two feet high and in 
bloom ! 

THIBET — THE FORBIDDEN LAND. 

Few travelers undertake the journey to Thibet. The 
discomforts and dangers on the way, the long, lonesome, 
awe-inspiring road up the mountains or over the dreary 
plateaus from 12,000 to 17,000 feet above the sea, and 
the suspicion of the natives — all these are such as to 
discourage even the stoutest-hearted. 

But it is worth the hardships even of the rugged, 

rocky way, the 



dangers from 
wild beasts, and 
the fearful cry of 
"Kolos"! "Ko- 
los"!" robbers"! 
"robbers"! which 
assails the ear 
Thibetan yak, or Long-haired ox. when these law- 

less men of the desert, in their wolf-skin caps, with 
long, black hair in masses on their shoulders, fierce 
black eyes, a gun slung over the shoulder and two 
swords in the belt, come dashing up on their horses. 
These, however, we are fortunate enough to escape. 

As our little wagons, pulled by camels (see page 16) 
climb up on the magnificent tableland, great eagles float 
in the air above us, and in the distance we see occasion- 
ally a wild camel or a herd of wild yaks. The yaks- 
havelong, black hair, superb horns, and great strength. 




A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 7 1 

In the winter they remain on the heights, but in the 
summer they descend to the valleys in search of water. 

Herdsmen approach our caravan to sell us butter or 
fresh meat, their saddles being hung round with frozen 
quarters of mutton or kid. This is cooked with argols 
(dried camel's dung, the chief fuel of this region). A 
Thibetan village through which we pass consists of a 
few clay houses, but mostly of black tents. Its people 
do not cultivate the ground, but tend their flocks. 

The road has become too rough for our camels, so we 
take to horses. We meet or pass at long intervals a 
small caravan of traders or of pilgrims, and we note 
stones with inscriptions set up by the wayside. At 
last we are at Pampou, the vestibule of the holy city 
(Lha-sa). We are truly astonished at the scene that 
opens out before us. 

For here is a beautiful plain, watered by a river and 
by irrigating canals, divided into small farms and dotted 
with houses from whose turrets float streamers with 
Thibetan colors and inscriptions. The people are at 
ease, and seemingly free from care, for in the evening 
they gather to converse, to dance, and to drink the light 
liquor made from fermented barley. 

The road from here to Lassa is a climb over a pre- 
cipitous mountain road, so rough and dangerous in 
places that one dares not risk remaining on horseback. 
But the pilgrim goes at this with heroic devotion, for 
he believes that getting over this mountain in the 
proper spirit helps to secure remission of his sins. 

Issuing from a defile at the foot of the mountain, 
there lies before us the chief city of the Buddhist world, 
encircled with magnificent old trees, brightened with 



72 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



its terraces, white residences and turrets, its gay bunt- 
ing, its temples with gilded roofs, and prominent above 
all, the palace and the monumental tomb of the Great 
Lama (Dalai Lama). 

Lassa is six miles in circumference, but has no walls 




Monumental Tomb of the Great Lama. 

around it, as we find around the Chinese cities. In the 
suburbs we can see gardens and large trees, and the 
streets seem to be straight and wide. We are not per- 
mitted to enter, for Lassa is a " holy city," and only two 
foreigners have ever been admitted within its precincts. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 73 

One of these states that the houses are of two or three 
stories, whitewashed all over, in the better section, ex- 
cept the door and window frames, which are painted 
yellow or red. The rooms inside, however, are usually 
smoky and dirty from heating them with argols burned 
in a sort of small basin of baked clay, the smoke find- 
ing its way out through a hole in the roof. 

The smaller streets are narrow, and the houses of 
the poorer classes are ill-kept and bad smelling. Among 
the curiosities are houses built of smooth, white ox 
horns and rough, black ram's horns, the spaces between 
the horns being filled in with mortar. The inhabitants 
have four ways of disposing of their dead — by crema- 
tion, by immersion in rivers or lakes, by exposure on 
the mountain peaks, or by cutting up the corpse and 
feeding it to the dogs. 

PEKING— TARTAR CITY — CHINESE CITY— FORBIDDEN 

CITY. 

Our time does not permit us to linger in Thibet, nor 
does our space allow us to describe the novel sights and 
experiences on our way back to the ocean, where we are 
taken by steamer through the Yellow Sea and the Pe- 
chi-li Gulf to Tientsin, from which the railroad takes 
us to Peking, eighty miles away. 

Tientsin is a walled city, twenty-eight miles up the 
Pei-ho River from Taku, where the forts guarding the 
mouth of the river were dismantled by European gun- 
boats during the recent war with China. At Tientsin, 
also, fighting took place between the allies and the 
Chinese troops, before the walls and the city were cap- 
tured. On every hand, in and out of the city, are 



74 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



desolation and ruins. We were offered fried grass- 
hoppers among other dainties, with a chance to draw 
sticks and see whether we win or lose a better meal — 
the restaurant-keeper taking Tiis chances to give us 






*$mSm 



Wau, and Gate Between Chinese and Tartar City, Peking, China. 

twice what our money pays for or nothing, according to 
whether we could pick out the longer or the shorter 
stick. 

The railroad to Peking is guarded by foreign troops, 
and we are not encouraged to go on to the city. The 
very circumstances, however, give to the trip a more 
thrilling interest, since we have secured our passes and 
learned that an American is looked upon kindly by the 
natives and Chinese officials. The railroad stops four 
miles from the city gate, and here we are offered the 
choice of a Peking cart or a donkey's back. We take 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 75 

the cart, but the awful jolting makes us sorry we did 
not choose a donkey, 

Peking, whose native name is Ching, was made the 
capital of China by Kublai Khan in 1280 A. d., though 
it was the capital of the smaller kingdom of Yen as far 
back as uoo b. c. Sixty miles to the north is the 
great Chinese wall. The city itself has a population 
of 1,500,000, and consists of two parts — the northern, 
or Tartar City, and the southern, or Chinese City. A 
strong wall, fifty or sixty feet high, separates these, and 
extends to the outer walls of the city, which are over 
twenty miles in circuit. 

The city has sixteen gateways in the outer walls, 
over each of which is a fine tower 75 to 100 feet high. 
Within the northern or Tartar city, since the present 
rulers are Manchus, is the Prohibited City, or city 
within which the emperor resides. This is about 
two miles in circumference, and regarded as sacred by 
the Chinese. 

The greatest humiliation that China has ever en- 
dured was inflicted by the allies of the recent war 
because of the terrible outrages of the " Boxers." 
When Peking was captured, a day was set apart for the 
desecration of the Forbidden City, and the troops of the 
different powers marched through its streets to the tune 
of martial music, while officers and visitors entered the 
imperial palace, and an American lady even took her 
seat upon the imperial throne. 

Among the most noted buildings that we have the 
opportunity to see, are the magnificent Temple to Con- 
fucius, the greatest of Chinese religious teachers, who 
was born 551 b. c. Here, twice a year, the emperor 



7 6 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



does honor to the memory of the beloved sage, whose 
wise maxims and upright teachings are found upon 




Entrance to the Temple of Confucius. 

scrolls in every home and temple in the Chinese 
Kingdom. 

THE CHINESE GOVERNHENT. 

The Chinese emperor is an absolute monarch. 
Through the state religion he is regarded as the " Son 
of Heaven," and his empire is termed " The Celestial 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. J J 

Empire." Nevertheless, by law and custom, he is 
subject to overthrow by the people if he does not rule 
wisely and justly. All his subjects must kotow to 
him ; that is, must enter his presence on their knees, 
and remain so during their interview, together with 
going through other ceremonies of obeisance. 

There is no hereditary nobility except that of the 
imperial family and of the families of Confucius and 
Koxinga. Nor is there a cabinet of ministers. 

The general government is managed by three great 
official bodies: The Grand Secretariat, The General 
Council of State, and The Tsung Li Yamen, or Board 
of Communication with representatives of foreign gov- 
ernments and with distinguished visitors. 

The Grand Secretariat consists of four chancellors, 
two assistant chancellors, and ten sub-assistants. Half 
of these must be Chinese, half Manchus. This Board 
keeps the twenty-five seals. Its duties are to lay before 
the emperor the business of the day, including memo- 
rials from any of his subjects, to receive the imperial 
decrees and to forward these to the proper persons to 
be copied and made known to the people. 

The official organ of the government is the Peking 
Gazette, a newspaper that has been published daily for 
over 800 years. Matters are told impartially to the 
people. There is no power which can prevent any 
wrong doing, corruption, or disgrace of an official from 
being made known in its columns. 

The General Council of State is composed of an in- 
definite number of princes of the blood, grand secreta- 
ries, chancellors, and the presidents and vice-presidents 
of the Six Great Boards. These Boards, each of which 



78 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

has two presidents, four vice-presidents and six or eight 
directors, are : — 

Hu-Pu, the Board of Revenue, which controls the receipts 
and disbursements, the levying and collection of taxes, the ap- 
portionment of salaries, and all matters of transportation. 

Li-Pu, or Board of Civil Office, controlling Civil Service 
Examinations. 

L,i-Pu, or Board of Rites, controlling public ceremonies. 

Ping-Pu, or Board of War, managing the army and navy. 

Hing-Pu, or Board of Punishments, having charge of the 
promulgation and execution of criminal law. 

Kung-Pu, or Board of Public Works. 

The duties of the General Council of State are : To 
write out imperial edicts and decisions ; to determine 
such matters as are of importance to the nation or 
to its armed forces ; to keep lists of officers entitled to 
promotion, and of persons entitled by the civil-service 
examination to fill vacancies ; and to supervise the ad- 
ministration of the various branches of government and 
keep the emperor posted as to the affairs of the empire. 

The Tsung Li Yamen is composed of a Manchu 
prince and of four to six ministers. Its duties are to con- 
fer with ministers of foreign governments or with any 
distinguished visitors, to see that they are received with 
due courtesy and properly entertained, and to commu- 
nicate their wishes to the emperor or to the proper 
officials. It has no power, and is, in fact, merely a 
board of courtesy. 

The empire is divided into eighteen provinces, whose 
names with their meanings are : — 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 79 

Area in sq. mi. 

Pe-chi-li — ' ' The Supreme Province ' ' — containing 

the capital 115,832 

Shan-Tung — " East of the Mountains." 55,985 

Shan-Si — " West of the Mountains." 81,854 

Bo-Nan — ' ' South of the (Yellow) River." 67,955 

Shen-Si — " West<of the (Yellow) River." 75,291 

Kiang-Su — " Country of the Happy River." 38,610 

Kiang-Si — " West of the River." 69,499 

Ngan-Hwei — " Province of Peace and Plenty.". . . . 54,826 

Che-Kiang — " The Winding River Country." ...... 36,681 

Fstd-Kien — " Consummation of Happiness." 46,332 

Kuang- Tung — ' ' The West Plain." 86.873 

Hu-Nan — " South of the Lakes." 83,398 

Hu-Pe — ' ' North of the Lakes." 71 ,430 

Kan-Su — " Land of Profound Peace." , 125,483 

Seckwan — ' ' The Four Streams. " 154,440 

Kuei-Chow — " The Honorable Division." 67,182 

Yun-Nan — " South of the Clouds." . . 146,719 

Kuang -Si — " The West River." 77,220 

Each province has its own 
tao-tai, or governor, and there 
are separate officials in charge 
of the provincial cities (having 
1,000,000 or over), district cities 
(having 100,000 or more), and 
districts or villages. / J( 

Important officials in China ^j 
are called by foreigners Manda- 
rins, of whom there are nine ^ 
grades, each having its distinct 
dress and its official " button" or 
jewel, worn at the apex of the 
official hat. These are: (1st, or 
highest) a ruby, or red trans- 
parent; (2d) polished coral, a- „ 

r / f. • Mandarin, or Chinese 

red opaque; (3d) a sapphire, blue official 




80 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

transparent: (4th) lapis lazuli, blue opaque; (5th) crys- 
tal, white transparent; (6th) polished opalescent shell, 
white opaque; (7th) plain, burnished gold, yellow bril- 
liant ; (8th) wrought gold, yellow opaque ; (9th) wrought 
silver, blank opaque. 

The sources of revenue to the government are the 
land tax; the salt monopoly; the likin, or duties on in- 
land commerce ; duties on foreign commerce ; and con- 
tributions, assessments, and subscriptions. There being 
no accurate record of these, there is much corruption 
and extortion in their collection. 

SIGHTS AND SCENES IN PEKING. 

We note that in China it is an advantage in some 
respects for a woman to have a poor husband. He can 
not afford more than one wife, and this prevents jeal- 
ousy. He can not afford to lose the time when she is 
small to have her feet bound up. She goes out more, 
because she must work to help make the living, and so 
she gets to talk with her neighbors and to see something 
more of the world than is found within the narrow lim- 
its to which social custom limits her wealthier sister. 

The Manchu woman dresses somewhat differently 
and is freer than the Chinese woman. She does not 
bind up her feet. We find her in Peking usually wear- 
ing long skirts and a loose blouse, though she often 
wears the long, graceful blouse and the loose trousers 
preferred by the Chinese woman. 

She takes much pains in dressing her hair, which is 
puffed, pleated, and filled with artificial or real flowers 
on special occasions. The hair is fluffed a little in 
front and then carried back to a roll on the back of the 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 8 1 

head. Two ornamental combs are fastened on each 
side of the head. Another comb with a small rounded 
top is stuck in the roll on the back of the head, and 




Manchu Woman's Headdress. 

from this a pendant of beads or jewels hangs down be- 
hind. Daggers are thrust through from side to side as 
a finishing touch. 

We find many curious sights in Peking. Not only 

6 



82 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



are the sedan-chairs carried by coolies, but here comes 
one with a little donkey not much larger than a St. 
Bernard dog in the shafts at each end. There is also 
the Peking cart, pulled by a donkey or a mule, in which 
you have to squat like the Chinaman rather than sit on 




Entrance to Temple of Prayer eor a Favorable Season — 
New Imperial Palace. 

a low seat with your legs crossed under you, and be 
bumped to death over the rough streets. 

As in other large cities, we find an Examination Hall, 
government buildings, walls and houses with fantastic 
roofs of yellow tiles, crowded streets, the tall pawnshops, 
the bazaars full of curios, and a road paved with granite 
slabs eight or ten feet long, leading out to the great 
wall. 

Here also are the magnificent Temple of Heaven, 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



83 



and the no less wonderful Temple of Agriculture, to 
the former of which the emperor goes in behalf of the 
nation to pray for prosperity and the blessings of the 
gods, and to the latter of which he goes in the spring 
to pray for a favorable season, and then to set the plows 



V ., 




Camel's Back Bridge, Imperial Gardens — Peking. 

of China going, by himself starting a little furrow with 
a gold-handled plow. 

In Peking also are the National University ; the an- 
cient Observatory ; the Imperial Palace, with its beauti- 
ful gardens, and their quaint Camel's Back Bridge; and 
noted Buddhist temples, with fine architecture, extensive 
grounds, elegant furniture, and giant images of Buddha, 
with smaller images of saints in the lesser halls. 



84 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

And yet the streets of the city are abominable, being 
in bad condition, dirty, foul-smelling, and having manure 
heaps or pools of stagnant water on every hand. At 
night, anyone who is unwise enough to. risk himself 
abroad must carry a lantern, for the only lights are 
dim street lamps of latticework boxes on poles about 
six feet high. In these are candles ! 

We drop into the market-places to see what is for 
sale. There are many varieties of fish ; the choicest 
of fruits in abundance, including oranges, loquats, 
citrons, rose-apples, bananas, litchis, papayas, and 
grapes; mutton, kid, pork, deer, dogs, squirrels, quails, 
pheasants, chickens, ducks, rats, and grasshoppers ; and 
squashes, edible bamboo, melons, water coltrops, rice, 
beans, peas, taro, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and yams. 

We pass stores selling tinsel paper, plain or in various 
shapes, to be burned in religious ceremonies, in honor 
of their ancestors, or at funerals ; bird stores and bird 
peddlers selling warblers and pigeons with whistles on 
their tails to scare hawks away; bookstores, selling 
great, heavy volumes that few persons read, but which 
the rich purchase for their libraries; and drug stores 
that sell pounded tiger bones to give strength, and ex- 
tracts of dogs and cats, or mixtures of various bugs 
and plants as cures for disease. 

ODDITIES AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE CHINESE. 

We find many odd customs and beliefs among the 
people in China. 

A carpenter pulls his plane toward him instead of 
pushing it from him as in this country. 






A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 85 

White is the color for mourning instead of black. 
If a boy turns out a criminal, his father and older 
brothers are sometimes punished with him for not set- 
ting him a better example. The schoolmaster gives 
the boy a different name from that by which he is 
known at home. A baby is frequently called " Flea," 
" Vagabond," " Louse," to make evil spirits think the 
parents do not care for him, and so the spirits will not 
care to bring disease or misfortune to him. 

Horseflesh is regarded as unwholesome, yet horse 
broth is used as a cure for pleurisy or malignant fevers, 
and the ashes of a horse's hoof are supposed to protect 
from pestilence. There is a Rip Van Winkle story of 
which Wang Chih is the hero. 

The wood of the peach-tree is never burned, as it 
may bring on insanity. The banyan tree is an object 
of worship, because its age is believed to impart spirit- 
uality ; and if the eldest daughter (who is supposed to 
marry first) should die before marriage, she is wedded 
to the spirit of some man, so that it will never return 
to earth and injure the living. 

The serpent is supposed to have connection with the 
Supreme Ruler of the Somber Heavens, who can bring 
on or avert disasters, and so the figure of the serpent or 
of some form of dragon is placed on the walls, roofs, or 
ornaments of houses, that honor to him may avert mis- 
fortune. The fox is dreaded because he is supposed to 
have power to change himself into the form of a beau- 
tiful but bad woman, and tempt men to wrong. 

And yet the Chinaman has many virtues worthy of 
all praise. He loves his home and his native village, 
and if he goes to other lands, always lays by money 



S6 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

with which to go back, or to have his body go back if 
he dies. He is patient, industrious, skillful in garden- 
ing and farming, shrewd as a trader, bright in making 
earthenware and porcelain, weaving, embroidering, carv- 
ing, making brass work, peaceful in disposition, always 
cares for the old, and most of his faults come from 
things that have been taught his ancestors for so long 
that the people's thought and actions seem almost to be 
crystallized. 

ANI HALS — PLANTS — HINERALS. 

The great variety of surface and of climate of the 
Chinese Empire, including the low plains of the Yel- 
low, the Yangtse, and the Si Rivers, the partially desert 
regions of Mongolia, Bast Turkestan, and Thibet, the 
uplands of the hills, and the lofty, cold table-lands of 
the south and west, with a good supply of rain, — all 
these produce an abundance of animal and plant life. 

Among the domestic, animals are the water-buffalo, 
the horse, the donkey, the camel, the yak, cattle, pigs, 
chickens, ducks, peacocks, pigeons, goats, sheep, dogs, 
elephants, cats, geese, cormorants, and cockatoos. 

Among the wild animals are the camel, ass, yak, 
tiger, leopard, elephant, deer, antelope, gazelle, porcu- 
pine, fruit fox (which climbs trees), cat fox, musk cat, 
rat, hare, armadillo, ape, monkey, ant-eater, jackal, ibex, 
rhinoceros, tortoise, bear, hedgehog, snakes, and wild 
hogs. 

Birds and insects almost innumerable are to be seen, 
among them being the beautiful pheasant with his long 
tail and brilliant plumage; partridges which are trapped 
by the thousands and sold in the markets at five to ten 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



87 



cents a pair; gray cranes, three or four feet High, found 
on the sandy beaches, and lavender-colored cranes, with 
black tail-feathers, found on the banyan trees; doves, 
thrushes, larks, pigeons, geese, ducks, snipe, egrets, 
storks, cormorants, kingfishers, bulbuls, owls, eagles, 
blackbirds, crows, francolins, minah birds, parrots, and 




Chinese Pheasants. 

cockatoos; the palm swift, about the size of a humming 
bird, and a great number of birds of fine plumage found 
in the forests. 

Locusts and grasshoppers are fried or dried and used 
as food; the centipede is mingled with certain other 
things, and the mixture forms a favorite medicine; and 
the silkworm is carefully nourished both upon the trees 
and in the homes, as it prepares to spin its cocoons. 
Much attention is given to the rearing of those but- 
terflies whose qualities insure the best silkworms. 



88 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

The plant world is fully as well represented. There 
are the camphor trees, whose wood is made into boxes, 
chests, and furniture; the liquid-amber trees; the cin- 
namon tree, out of whose fragrant bark cassia is made; 
the sweet olive trees, forty or fifty feet high, with a rich 
profusion of flowers used as wreaths by the people; the 
honeysuckle in many varieties; lilies of lovely form 
and beautiful coloring ; many new species of the rhodo- 
dendrons, whose fragrant lavender-colored blossoms on 
shrubs ten or twelve feet high fill us with admiration; 
and oaks with broad, woolly leaves, whose abundant 
crops of acorns are extensively used for food. 

The invaluable bamboo is as great a blessing to China 
as to the Philippines, for the people make out of it fish- 
nets, chopsticks, lanterns, cloth, window-blinds, furni- 
ture, cricket-traps, hairpins, brooches, baskets, gambling 
tickets, musical instruments, pen, paper, sedan-chairs, 
flowerpots, girdles, etc., etc., in addition to the many 
articles of domestic use.* There is a peculiar species 
of bamboo in China which produces opals, being a se- 
cretion of silicia and potash due to disease at a joint. 
This opal the Chinese call tabasheer. They pulverize 
it and use it as a medicine. 

There are chestnut trees, tallow trees, the castanopsis, 
arbor vitse, pines, the fir in great abundance and used 
in the manufacture of charcoal, pear trees, apple trees 
whose fruit is soft and tasteless, plum trees, and persim- 
mon trees whose fruit is large and luscious, and mahog- 
any and other hardwood trees whose timber is exquisitely 
carved in the manufacture of fine furniture for the tem- 
ples, palaces, public buildings, and houses of the wealthy. 

* See Little Journey to the Philippines, page 56. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 89 

The peach may be termed the national tree of China, 
though not a native, having been brought from Persia 
about 2,000 years ago. It is cultivated with great care, 
and the peach gardens with their blooms of delicate 
pink and white make a most attractive scene. The 
blossoms are great favorites with the Chinese, and we 
find them in profusion in libraries and reception rooms. 

There are three varieties of the Chinese peach : the 
dwarf, the shrub, and the full-sized tree. There are 
eighteen kinds of dwarf peach trees, many of which 
are grown in large flower pots, and they are remarkable 
for their diminutive size and for the wealth, color, and 
pleasant odor of their blossoms. They bear no fruit. 

The shrub variety grows to the height of four or five 
feet. It is planted on the margins of ponds and lakes, 
in the gardens of the wealthy, or in the grounds around 
the temples, the apricot and the wild cherry being min- 
gled with it so as to make a charming variety of blos- 
soms. Near Hankow these trees grow in great numbers, 
and make a lovely border to Lake Toon-Ting. 

The full-grown tree bears the most fruit, though 
many do not like its flavor. The peaches are of vari- 
ous shapes and colors — usually flat, long, and pointed, 
with the pulp white, pale green, marbled, a rich yellow, 
or a ruby. The peach is the emblem of longevity and 
marriage, and figures in a great many Chinese fairy 
tales and myths. 

Rice is the universal article of culture and food, the 
sweet potato coming next in the estimation of the poor. 
Wheat and other cereals are chiefly grown in the north ; 
corn, pulse, barley, millet, and sugar-cane form the 
other chief food articles. Black ginger and white gin- 



QO A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

ger are very popular — the rootstocks being planted in 
March or April in furrows a foot apart. The fleshy 
roots are dug up the following January, the tenderest 
being made into a preserve with syrup. 

Ginger, peppermint, and other herbs and roots, as well 
as tea-oil, pepper-oil, peanut-oil, wood-oil, and other 
preparations are used as foods or medicines. Cloth 
is made both from regular hemp and from the banana- 
hemp which we saw in the Philippines ; from cotton, a 
very extensive product of the lowlands ; from pine- 
apple fiber, though not of so fine a quality as in the 
Philippines; from bamboo fiber; and, for rain-coats, 
from the fan and other palm leaves. 

TEA CULTURE — SJLK. 

Tea is the great agricultural product of China. Its 
first appearance in China is ascribed by a folk-lore story 
to an old woman's appearance in the market-place about 
200 A. D. with a cup of tea of which she freely gave all 
to drink, but whose contents did not diminish. Its use 
as a beverage is authentically traced back to about 300 
or 400 A. d. It grows as high as 4,000 to 6,000 feet up 
on the mountain sides and as far north as the fortieth 
parallel. 

Tea is grown by sowing seeds the first year, stopping 
the middle shoot the second year to make the. plant 
bushy and throw out leaves, which are ready for pluck- 
ing after the third year. The shrubs are manured in 
the spring and autumn, and the ground cultivated 
around the roots at least four times a year. At the end 
of seven years, the leaves begin to become thick, hard, 
and rough. The plant is then cut back, and begins to 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 



91 



sprout over. This process is repeated till the plant is 
about thirty years old, when it ceases to be profitable, 
and is cut up for a new planting. 

The black teas of the best flavors come from the 




Sorting Tea. 

Bohea Mountains. The Hyson, or green, teas, have been 
greatly improved by cultivation and by being changed 
from the hills to the plains. Usually there are three or 
four gatherings of tea-leaves each season. The leaves 
are sometimes dried in the sun in small trays on bam- 
boo stands, sometimes roasted, are carefully assorted, 



92 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

and then packed for exportation in caddies lined with 
sheet-lead to keep ont moisture and to keep in the 
aroma. 

The culture of the silkworm and the gathering and 
weaving of its product is another great industry in 
China. The silkworm is fed upon the leaves of the 
mulberry tree, which is cultivated very carefully for 
this purpose. The young worms are usually fed with 
the leaves of the King-sang mulberry, they being more 
delicate ; the older worms thrive best on the leaves of 
the Low-sang tree, which are larger, thicker, and juicier. 
The dried leaves, gathered in the fall, are beaten up 
and sealed in jars to be fed as a powder to the worms 
after they cast their skins in the spring. 

MINERAL PRODUCTS. 

The minerals of China have so far been but little de- 
veloped, though the wealth of the empire in this par- 
ticular is very great. Hundreds of mountains contain 
copper and iron. Gold and silver mines are worked 
profitably, but the government seems to discourage this. 
Other mines, notably in the province of Shensi, pro- 
duce mercury, and others yield lead, tin, zinc, sulphur, 
and alum, while there are valuable quarries of marble, 
granite, and jade-stone, and a very fine quality of clay, 
used for making porcelain. 

Coal in large quantities is found in Manchuria, near 
Peking, and in the province of Yunnan in the south, 
which is very rich in other minerals as well. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 93 

OFF FOR JAPAN. 

Conditions in China will not permit us to make a 
longer visit to this interesting people. We had hoped 
to make a closer study of their three religions — Bud- 
dhism, Confucianism, and Taoism — though the wor- 
ship of innumerable gods, of one's ancestors, and of idols 
seems to be universal. 

We shall now journey to China's near neighbor, the 
Island Kingdom of the East, whose Mikado rules over 
four thousand islands and whose Festival of the Cherry 
Blossom is soon to be celebrated. 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY. 



argols . 
armadillo 
banyan . 
Buddhism 
bulbul . , 

cangue . 
Canton . . 
carambola 
cassia . 
egret . . 
Fuchau 
Han-Kau 
Hongkong 
Kwang-su 
Kuen-lun . 
Lassa . . 
litchi . . 
Macao 



ar golz 
ar-ma-dil' lo 
ban' yahn 
bood' izm 
bool' bool (oo as in 

wool) 
cang 
can-ton' 
ca-ram' bo-lah 
cash' yah 
e' gret or eg' ret 
foo-chow' 
hahn-kow' 
hong-kong' 
Kwang' soo 
kwen-loon' 
lah' sah 
lee' chee 
mah-cah' o 



Manchu . . 
Manchuria . 
mandarin . . 
minah . . 
pagoda . . . 
Pe-chi-li . . 
Pei-ho . . . 
Peking . . 
rhododendron 
sedan 
Shanghai 
tabasheer . . 
Taoism . . 
tao-tai . . . 
Tien-Tsin . 
Thibet . . . 
vermicelli . 
Yanetse . . 



man-choo' 

man-choo' ri-ah 

man-da-reen' 

mi' nah or me' nah 

pa-go' da 

pa-che-le' 

pa-ho' 

pe-king' 

ro-do-den' dron 

se-dan' 

shang-hah' i 

tab-ah-sheer' 

tah' o-izm 

tah' o-tahi 

te-en'-tsen 

tT-bet' 

ver-mi-cel' li 

yang' tze 



94 



LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE SNOW 

Being the Life of Koohna, arv Eskimo Boy. 

CONTENTS. 

The Sun in the Horizon. - The Northern Lights. 

Mother Eskimo Makes Koohna a Where the Eskimo Girl Has Her 

New Suit of Clothes. Pockets. 

How Baby Eskimo Lives. The Eskimo House. 

How to Manage the Dog Sledge. Games of Eskimo Boys and Girls. 

Little Koohna at Work. Hunting the Musk Ox. 

Spearing Fish. How Seals Are Caught. 

Voyage on the Ice. The White Man's Igloo. 

Eskimo Stories and Folk Lore. 

This is a charming little volume of 108 pages, by Mary Muller. It is 
bound in cloth, has illuminated covers, embossed with silver, and is fully 
illustrated. Cloth, 35c; Board, 25c. 



THE LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES 

Of Selections from the World's Best Literature. 



points of excellence. 3. Better paper and a good, clear 

1. A full page portrait of the author type. '62 pages in each issue. 

in each volume. 4. Substantial and attractive covers. 

2. Biographical and other matter l.ot 5. The economical price of S cents 

found in other editions. per copy. 

IN THE SERIES NOW ISSUED OR UNDER WAY ARE 

The King of the Golden River. A Dog of Flanders, double number, 

The Great Stone Face. 10c, til pages. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Nurnburg Stove, double number, 

Evangeline. price, 10c. 

Miles Standish, double number, 10c, The Miraculous Pitcher. 

61 pages. The Three Golden Apples. 

The Deserted Village and Gray's Elegy. The Snow Image. 
Rip Van Winkle, etc., etc. 

Single numbers in any quantity mailed at 5c. per copy. 



THE LITTLE JOURNEYS SERIES 

A LIBRARY OF TRAVEL FOR CHILDREN. 



This is a series of reading books issued monthly at a low price. It is de- 
signed to meet the constant demand of pupils and teachers for interesting 
and reliable inform ition about OUR NEW POSSESSIONS, and about other 
countries little known. The readers take the trips along with the author. 
The books are handsomely illustrated, printed on good paper, in large, clear 
type. They are admirable for supplementary reading, for brightening the 
work in Geography and History, and for the home Library. THE TEACHERS' 
EDITION contains hints for Friday Afternoons Abroad and other work. 

PRICES: Teachers' Edition, per year, $1.50; per number, 15c. 

Pupils' Edition, 80 pages, 10c. per copy. 

A. FLANAGAN CO., Publishers, Chicago, 111. 



IPatxagatx H&njcatixraal Mzxx&s 



D RAW I N G 



I. FOR GRADED AND SYSTEMATIC INSTRUCTION, 
The; Webb and Ware Series: 

Primary Course. 4 books, each 40 pages, 15 cents. 
Advanced Course, 4 books, each 40 pages, 20 cents. 
Large envelopes containing 30 to 40 sheets practice paper, 
5 cents extra. 
Write for illustrated descriptive circular. 

II. FOR UNGRADED AND COUNTRY SCHOOLS, fur- 
nishing Popular and Practical Busy Work, we 
publish 

Purkhiser's Easy Lessons. Books 1 and 2. 10 cents each. 

The Drawing Made Easy Series. Four sets, each with manual, 

25 cents. 
Hull's Didactic Drawings, with paper cutting, folding, etc. 

25 cents. 
Augsburg's Easy Things to Draw. 203 illustrations. 30 cents. 
King's Blackboard Sketching. 30 cents. 

III. SELXMAN'S WATER COLORS, 8 in box with brush, 

25 cts. 
The largest variety, best quality, lowest price. 

IV. CONSTRUCTION WORK IN CARDBOARD AND 

PAPER, by Rob'T M. Smith, Supervisor of Manual 
Training, Chicago Schools. Cloth. 42 full -page illus- 
trations. Price, $1.00. 
A complete course in manual training for the first four grades in 

the public schools, together with a course in woodwork for 

5th and 6th grades. 



MUSIC 



Over 300,000 of our popular music books have been sold 
to the delight and satisfaction of pupils and teachers. Full 
descriptions are given in our Catalogue, sent free on request. 

Merry Melodies., 15c. The Fountain Song Books, each, 15c. 

Merry Songs, 30c. Patriotic Songs, 20c. 

Silvery Notes, 15c. Songs in Season, 50c. 

Golden Glees, 35c. Royal Songs, 12c. 

New Century Songs, 20c. Songs for School, Home, Nation, 25c. 
Steele's Primary Rote Songs, 15c. 
Wbybark's Child's Music Course, IstR., 30c; 2d R., 30c. 



A. FLANAGAN COMPANY, Publishers 

266-268 Wabash Avenue, Chicago 



TEACHER'S SUPPLEMENT. 



A Little Journey to China. 



When a class, club, or school has been studying a country, 
the work may be brought to a close in a way that pupils and 
their parents and friends will enjoy and remember, by giving An 
Afternoon or Evening Abroad. 

This form of geography review will be appreciated more par- 
ticularly in villages, or in country districts, where entertain- 
ments, books, pictures, and opportunities for study and social 
intercourse are rarer than in town. 

At the conclusion of an afternoon talk or entertainment, any 
pictures used may be placed on the chalk tray along the black- 
board, that visitors may examine them more closely. 

If the entertainment is given in the evenings the teacher may 
be able to use stereopticon views. 

These will prove a very great attraction to both pupils and 
parents, and should be secured if possible. The lantern with oil 
lamp may be easily operated by the teacher while the pupils give 
the descriptions of the pictures or give talks about the country. 

The lanterns and slides may be rented for the evening or after- 
noon at reasonable rates, and the cost covered by an admission 
fee of from ten to twenty-five cents. In sending for catalogue 
and terms, ask for the paper used to darken windows, if the lan- 
tern is to be used in the afternoon. 

One of the largest dealers in stereopticon views and lanterns 
is the Mcintosh Stereopticon Co., 35 Randolph St., Chicago. 

97 



98 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

SUGGESTIONS. 

At the conclusion of the study of China, a topic may be 
assigned to each pupil or selected by him. With this topic he 
should become thoroughly familiar. In place of the old-time 
review, invitations may be issued by the pupils for an afternoon 
or evening entertainment. x Invitations may be written out by 
pupils, mimeographed or hectograped, and carried to friends and 
parents. 

If given as an evening entertainment and illustrated by stere- 
opticon views, handbills may be printed and circulated, at least 
a week beforehand. The following form may be used: — 

SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. 

A TRIP TO CHINA FOR TEN CENTS. 

You are invited by the pupils of the school [or the 

members of the Travel Class or Club] to spend an evening [or 
afternoon] in China. 

The party starts promptly at i : 30 p. m. (or 8 p. m.). Those 
desiring to take this trip should secure tickets before the day of 
sailing, as the party is limited. Guides are furnished free. 

During the journey many points of interest will be visited, 
including tea plantations, duck farms, butterfly nurseries, Chi- 
nese shops, pagodas, and palaces. We will also witness a Chi- 
nese wedding, and visit several Chinese homes as well as the 
scenes of the late war in China. 

The proceeds of this entertainment are to be used in the pur- 
chase of a library, and of pictures and stereopticon views for the 
school. 

DECORATIONS. 

Across the center of the blackboard write or print in large 
letters "China — the Celestial Empire;" or, "The Middle 
Kingdom. ' ' The blackboard may also be decorated with draw- 
ings showing the home life of the people, scenes in China, the 
fan palm, the duck-boat, a Chinese joss, a sedan-chair, etc. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 99 

Over the center of the board arrange a Chinese flag. This 
may be made of colored tissue paper, or may be drawn with 
colored crayons. 

Beneath the flag should be pictures of the Chinese Emperor 
and the Dowager Empress. Pictures of other Chinese digni- 
taries (including the minister at Washington), together with pic- 
tures of scenes in China, should be pinned upon the walls, or 
fastened to the picture screens. One blackboard may be cov- 
ered with Chinese characters copied from the pages of a Chinese 
book or a convenient tea box. 

Decorate the room with Chinese lanterns, parasols, fans, kites, 
bamboo wall pockets, banners, tapestry, porcelain, pictures, and 
screens. 

The bamboo wall pockets may be filled with flowers. Palms 
and other tropical plants native to China may be placed about 
the room. Pots of Chinese lilies and bulbs in various stages of 
growth may be placed upon window sills and stands. 

A curtain of beads or bamboo may be hung over the entrance 
to the schoolroom, with another curtain of cotton or silk behind 
it, partially looped. Silk scarfs or screens may be arranged to 
conceal defective walls or unsightly objects. Borrow a number 
of bamboo chairs, settees, tables, and stands, and place about 
the room. Globes of gold fish — the favorite pet of the Chinese 
— should also be given a place in the schoolroom this afternoon, 
with bird cages, a cockatoo, and a peacock. 

One corner of the room may be fitted up with Chinese booths 
or shops. The screens will be useful for this purpose. 

A huge Chinese umbrella may be fastened to the floor near the 
booths, and one fruit merchant may sit beneath it, and ply his 
trade. Under another may be a seller of cakes and sweetmeats, 
or a fortune teller. 

Pupils dressed in Chinese costumes may take charge of the 
booths, and others may walk about offering wares for sale. The 
booths may be fixed up in the schoolroom, three to six feet wide, 
open in front, closed on the other three sides, and placed next to 
each other. Except in curio shops, Chinese merchants usually 
handle only one kind of wares. 
LrfC. 



IOO A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

Among the articles which it will be possible to secure for the 
tables arid booths are fans, sunshades, lanterns, kites, firecrack- 
ers, shoes or sandals, Chinese dolls, vases, dishes, wall pockets, 
canes, chopsticks, dinner gong, paper napkins, beads, idols, 
Chinese bulbs, and articles made of silk, bamboo, or sandalwood. 

China teacups and other dishes may be arranged on one table, 
and a pupil costumed as a Chinese maiden may serve tiny cups 
of tea. 

At another table, rice, cakes, and other refreshments may be 
served. A dinner gong may hang over one of these tables, and 
the time for refreshments may be announced by striking the 
gong. 

COSTUflES. 

The Chinese girl may wear a green jacket or blouse, falling 
to the knees, and belted in at the waist; yellow trousers reaching 
almost to the ankles. Blouse and trousers may be trimmed with 
bangles, chains, beads, and other ornaments. 

Black hose, embroidered slippers, and a peaked skull-cap of 
yellow complete the costume. The girls wear their ha^r down 
the back, in one or two braids. Girls over twelve years of age 
have their hair done up in elaborate loops and knots, and adorned 
with flowers or jewels (see page 60). Bracelets and other jew- 
elry are worn, and a fan carried in the hand. 

The Chinese boy wears a loose-fitting jacket of blue or gray, 
and a pair of full, short trousers. He may wear a close-fitting 
cap, and thick-soled sandals, or wooden shoes and white stock- 
ings. His sleeves are wide and flowing, a bracelet is worn on 
the wrist, and a large neck-chain of Chinese coins and Chinese 
ornaments on the breast. 

Pupils costumed as Chinese boys and girls may take the part 
of waiters, and serve tea from trays, in Chinese cups and saucers. 
Tea should be served as it is served in China. A few leaves are 
placed in each cup and covered with hot water. The cup is 
covered a minute or two, and then the tea is served. With the 
tea serve little cakes, or watermelon and sunflower seeds, with 
salt. A few bowls of cooked rice, and ivory or bamboo chop- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. IOI 

sticks may be placed on one table, and the pupils allowed to eat 
rice after the Chinese fashion. 

Chinese sweetmeats may also be served or arranged in a booth 
for sale, together with various other Chinese productions. 



AN AFTERNOON IN CHINA. 

PROGRAM. 

i . Introductory remarks by the guide. 

2. Recitation (a poem on China, if possible). 

3. Entering China at Canton (a description of the journey from 

Hongkong to and about Canton, speaker using a large 
map). 

4. Song " America, ".or " The Red, White, and Blue." 

5. Brief history of China, closing with reference to the late 

disturbances in that country. 

6. Trip along the coast, stopping at Fuchau and Shanghai. 

7. Geography of the country, giving size, location, climate, 

principal cities, etc. 

8. The trip up the Yangtse River, with impressions of city life 

in China. 

9. Homes and home life of the Chinese people. 

10. Some things seen in Thibet. 

11. Chinese proverbs or sayings (one to be recited by each 

member of the class without rising from the seat). 

12. Music, " National Air of China." 

13. How people travel in China (show toy sedan-chair, Peking 

cart, hakka boat, donkey, camel-cart, etc.). 

14. Child life in China. 

15. Tableaux. 

16. Animal life. 

17. Plant life. 

18. Story, " The Chinese Lily" (to be read or told). 

19. The tea plant. 

20. Story of the goddess of the silkworm. 

2 1 . From Tientsin to Peking. 



NATIONAL AIR OF CHINA. 



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NATIONAL AIR OF CHINA- Concluded. 




104 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

22. Places of interest in China (emperor's palace, pagodas, Tomb 

of Confucius, a tea farm, etc.). 

23. The late war in China. 

24. Departure for Japan. Song, "Star Spangled Banner." 

THE CHINESE LILY. 

The following legend told of this pretty flower by the Chinese 
may please the children : — 

" Long, long ago a rich man died in China, leaving vast prop- 
erty and two sons, the mother having died previously. Accord- 
ing to the law at that time, the eldest son inherited the property 
of the father, but it was expected that the eldest would divide 
the property among his brothers and sisters. The elder of these 
two sons was grasping, selfish, avaricious, while the younger was 
gentle, generous, and kind. The elder brother made such a divi- 
sion of his possessions as became his sordid disposition, but his 
brother knew not the character of his land until he went one day 
to see it. What he saw was a stony, sterile waste. A few pools 
of water nestled among the stones, but no vegetation gladdened 
the ground. 

When he looked about this desert, and realized his brother's 
cruelty and selfishness, he sat down upon a stone and wept bit- 
terly. While he was weeping and moaning, with his head bowed 
to his knees, a bright light shone about him, he heard delightful 
music, and, looking up, his astonished eyes beheld a beautiful 
woman standing before him, gorgeously arrayed. She asked him 
why he wept and appeared so miserable and downcast. He trem- 
blingly told the story of his father's death and his brother's cru- 
elty in giving him only this ugly, desert spot of land. She said, 
'There, now, go to sleep,' and waved her hand. Instantly he 
beard again the music, and sank into a sweet sleep. He was 
awakened by a touch upon his forehead, the music ceased, and 
he heard, as in a dream, the voice of the beautiful woman say- 
ing, ' Look ! get up and look about you. Your land is no longer 
sterile, nor will it ever be so again. The sound of your weeping 
reached the ear of Buddha, who sent me to bring you peace. 
Lilies will always grow here, but can be produced nowhere else. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 105 

They will make you richer and happier than your brother is with 
all his wealth.' And, with a rush of wings, the beautiful woman 
vanished." 

This story is believed by many Chinamen, who say thoughts 
of the old home far away come to them when they glance at 
these lilies, or smell their fragrance, and this is why Chinamen 
love and reverence these modest., pretty flowers. 

THE GODDESS OF THE SILKWORM. 

A long time ago the people of China wore skins of animals, 
because they had no other kind of clothing. But by and by so 
many of the skins were used up and there were so many people 
to clothe, that everyone began to wonder what would be done 
for clothing when the skins were nearly all gone. 

The emperor of the country had a wife who was very 
thoughtful for the welfare of the people, and she tried to 
think of some material which could be used in place of the 
skins. 

One day while walking in the garden among the mulberry 
trees, she happened to notice the silk threads of the cocoons on 
the trees. She wondered if this thread could not be woven into 
a cloth, and be used for clothing. So some cocoons were taken, 
and the threads unwound from them and woven together to make 
silk. It took many people and much time to do this, but the 
people were very glad and thankful to have the new cloth. 
They were so grateful to the good emperor's wife that they 
named her the "Goddess of the Silkworm," and she is called 
that even to this day. 

A CHINESE STORY* 

None are so wise as they who make pretense 
To know what fate conceals from mortal sense. 
This moral from a tale of Ho-hang-ho 
Might have been drawn a thousand years ago, 
When men were left to their unaided senses, 
Long ere the days of spectacles and lenses. 

Two young, short-sighted fellows, Chang and Ching, 
Over their chopsticks idly chattering, 



106 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 

Fell to disputing which could see the best. 
At last they agreed to put it to the test. 
Said Chang, ' ' A marble tablet, so I hear, 
Is placed upon the Ba-hee temple near, 
With an inscription on it. Let us go 
And read it (since you boast your optics so), 
Standing together at a certain place 
In front, where we the letters just may trace; 
Then he who quickest reads the inscription there 
The palm for keenest eyes henceforth shall bear. ' ' 
' ' Agreed, ' ' said Ching, ' ' but let us try it soon ; 
Suppose we say to-morrow afternoon." 

" Nay, not so soon," said Chang, "I'm bound to go 
To-morrow a day's ride from Ho-hang-ho, 
And sha'n't be ready till the following day ; — 
At ten a. m. on Thursday, let us say." 

So 'twas arranged ; but Ching was wide awake ; 
Time by the forelock he resolved to take ; 
And to the temple went at once and read 
Upon the tablet: "To the illustrious dead, 
The chief of mandarins, the great Goh-Bang." 
Scarce had he gone, when stealthily came Chang, 
Who read the §ame ; but, peering closer, he 
Spied in a corner what Ching failed to see — 
The words, ' ' This tablet is erected here 
By those to whom the great Goh-Bang was dear." 

So on the appointed day — both innocent 

As babes, of course — these honest fellows went, 

And took their distant station; and Ching said, 

' ' I can read plainly, ' To the illustrious dead, 
The chief of mandarins, the great Goh-Bang.' " 

' ' And is this all that you can spell ? ' ' said Chang. 

"I see what you have read, but furthermore, 
In smaller letters, toward the temple door, 
Quite plain, ' This tablet is erected here 
By those to whom the great Goh-Bang was dear.' " 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO CHINA. 10/ 

"My sharp-eyed friend, there are no such words! " said Ching. 
"They're there," said Chang, "if I see anything, 
"As clear as daylight." " Patent eyes, indeed, 

You have ! ' ' cried Ching ; "do you think I can not read ? ' ' 
"Not at this distance as I can," Chang said, 
"If what you say you saw is all you read." 

In fine, they quarreled, and their wrath increased, 
Till Chang said, " Let us leave it to the priest; 
Lo ! here he comes to meet us. " "It is well, ' ' 
Said honest Ching; " no falsehood he will tell." 

The good man heard their artless story through, 
And said, " I think, dear sirs, there must be few 
Blest with such wondrous eyes as those you wear : 
There's no such tablet or inscription there ! 
There was one, it is true ; 'twas moved away 
And placed within the temple yesterday. ' ' 

C. F. Cranch. 

A LAND WHERE DOGS ARE PRIZED AS DAINTY 
MORSELS. 

A friend was invited to dine with a mandarin in Canton, and 
the latter took great pains in seeing that his guest was well sup- 
plied with food. The gentleman i was enjoying the dainty bit of 
meat before him with a keen relish, and as soon as the last bit 
disappeared, the mandarin ordered his servant to replenish the 
plate plentifully. 

My friend supposed the meat to be duck, but wishing to 
be certain, and not understanding the Chinese language suffi- 
ciently to converse in it, he ejaculated questioningly, "Quack? 
Quack?" 

The host smiled blandly, and responded in the same vocab- 
ulary, ' ' Bowwow ! ' ' 

It is needless to say that when apprised of the nature of the 
dish, the guest had no appetite for the remainder of the meal. — 
Louise E. Dew, in Pets and Animals. 



to8 LITTLE JOURNEYS ABROAD. 

THE TRAVEL CLASS. 

Nothing in the study of geography is more interesting or 
helpful to pupils than the taking of imaginary journeys. It 
makes geography a live subject. 

Suggest that your pupils organize a Travel Club, and that 
some of the trips be personally conducted. 

Maps and a globe should be in constant use. The home 
should be the starting point. Railroad circulars, maps, and time 
cards for free distribution will be found valuable. Pupils should 
be taught how to use these maps and time cards. 

Give pupils a choice as to routes or roads over which they are 
to travel. Each pupil, however, should be able to give a reason 
for his preference for any particular road, and must know the 
number of miles and the time required for the journey. The 
road or route voted upon by the majority may then be decided 
upon, and preparations made for the trip. 

Find out the best time to go to each particular country, and 
the reason. What clothes it will be best to wear and to take 
with one. About how much money it will be necessary to spend 
on such a trip, and when and where this money should be 
changed into the coin or currency used in the country we expect 
to visit. 

A Guide may be appointed to obtain time-tables, maps, rail- 
road guides, the little books of travel, or other descriptions of 
routes and of the parts of the country that are to be visited. 
(Further suggestions in regard to these "helps" will be found 
elsewhere in this book.) 

The principal features of the country passed through may be 
described, if time permits; also the more important cities. Note 
the population, occupations, productions, together with anything 
of special interest or historical importance associated with the 
city or locality. 

The Guide takes charge of the class in the same way that a 
tourist guide would do. He escorts us from the home depot to 
the city, state, or country, pointing out the route on a map sus- 
pended before the class. 



UTTLE JOURNEYS ABROAD. 109 

Arriving at the city or country, he takes us to the various 
points of interest, telling as much about each as he is able, and 
answering questions pupils may wish to ask. If the guide can 
not answer all questions, the teacher or some other member of 
the party may. 

When the guide has finished with a topic or section, other 
members of the party may give items of interest concerning it. 

A different pupil may act as guide to each city or part of the 
country visited, and each pupil should come to the class with a 
list of questions about the places. 

Every pupil in the class may take some part, either as guide, 
or as the class artist, musician, librarian, historian, geographer, 
geologist, botanist, zoologist, or man of letters. 

A Historian may tell us of the history of the country, and 
answer all questions of historical interest. 

A Geographer may tell of the location on the globe, of the 
natural land formations of mountains, canons, prairies, rivers, 
etc., and of the climate- resulting from these. He should illus- 
trate his remarks. 

A Geologist may assist, and show specimens of minerals and 
fossils, or pictures of these. 

A Botanist may tell us of native plants, useful or ornamental, 
and show pictures of these if possible. A Zoologist tells of the 
. native animals, their habits and uses. 

The geographer, geologist, botanist, and zoologist direct the 
work at the sand table, and assist in reproducing the country in 
miniature. 

The Merchants and Tradesmen tell us of the products for 
which their country is noted, and show samples of as many as 
it is possible to secure. They also tell what they import, and 
why. 

A Librarian or Correspondent may visit the library for infor- 
mation sought by the club. He must be able to give a list of 
books of travel, and be ready to read or quote extracts referring 
to the places visited on the tour. 

He or his assistant may also clip all articles of interest from 
papers, magazines, and other sources, and arrange these, as well 



IIO LITTLE JOURNEYS ABROAD. 

as tne articles secured by other pupils, in a scrapbook, devoted 
to each country. 

The Artist and his assistant may tell us about the famous 
artists and their works, if any. He may illustrate his remarks 
with pictures, if he can obtain or make them. 

The Club Artist may also place upon the board in colored 
crayons the flag, the coat of arms, and the national flower of the 
country. 

A Photographer may be appointed to provide or care for the 
photographs and pictures used in the class talks. The photo- 
graphs may often be borrowed from tourists or others. Pictures 
may be obtained from magazines, railroad pampl lets, the illus- 
trated papers, or from the Perry Pictures, and mounted on card- 
board or arranged by the artist in a scrapbook with the name of 
the country on the cover. 

Another pupil may collect curiosities. Many families in each 
neighborhood will be able to contribute some curio. Pupils in 
other rooms in the building will be interested in collecting and 
loaning material for this little museum and picture gallery. 

Coins and stamps may be placed with this collection. Begin 
a stamp album, and collect the stamps of all the countries studied. 
The stamps of many countries show the heads of the rulers. 

The album should be kept on the reading table with the scrap- 
books, in order that pupils may have access to it during their 
periods of leisure. 

Dolls may be dressed in the national costume or to represent 
historical personages. 



REFERENCE BOOKS. 



"Home Life in China," Mrs. Bryson $1.25 

" Journey through the Chinese Empire," E. R. Hue, 8th vol. 

" Along River and Road in Fu Kien," Dukes 1.25 

"Society in China," R. R. Douglas 4.50 

"Things Chinese," J. D. Ball 3.00 

' ' The Chinese, " R. Caltmann 1.75 

' ' The Land of the Lamas," Rockhill 3.50 

" A Winter in North China," Morris , 4.50 

" Chinese Characteristics," A. H. Smith 2.00 

"Chinese Nights' Entertainment," A. M. Field 1.75 

" Boy Travelers in Japan and China," Knox 3.00 

' ' Seven Little Sisters " .50 

" Children of Other Lands," Mrs. Miln 4.00 

" Journeys in North China," Dr. Williams 3.00 

" China and the Chinese," H. C. Sirr, 2 vols 3.00 

"A Corner of Cathay," A. M. Field- '. 3.00 

"The Three Religions of China," H. C. DuBose 1.00 

"Pagoda Shadows," A. M. Fields 1.00 

" Old Highways in China," I. Williamson 1.25 



FEB 14 1901 



Winter Tourist Tickets Now 
on Sale to 



FLORIDA, CUBA, and 

NASSAU. 



THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY is the greatest SOUTHERN SYSTEM, 
6895 miles, reaching the best cities and resorts of 

*-~~THE SOUTH-**** 

In making your arrangements to go South this winter, address any of 
the undersigned. It costs only two cents; and if you will give us some idea 
of where you want to go, we will send you literature, furnish you schedules, 
and one-way or round trip rates. 



W. A. TURK. 

Washington, D. C. 
C. A. BAIRD, T. P. A., 

Cincinnati, Ohio. 



WM. H. TAYLOB, A. Q. P. A., 

Louisville, Ky. 
J. C. BEAM, JR., N. W.P.A. 

225 Dearborn St., Chicago. 



When You Go So\rth 



Over the QUEEN AND CRESCENT 
Route and its connections via Cincinnati, 
careful attendants look to your comfort, 
your meals ( a la carte ) are not surpassed 
in the best hotels, your rest is unbroken 
on the smooth, rock-ballasted roadway, 
you are not annoyed by change of cars, 
and fatigue vanishes before some of the 
finest natural scenery in America. 




Winter Tourist 
1 Tickets are sold at 
Reduced Rates. 



Why not write us about it? Only 24 hours Cincinnati to Florida. Direct connections 
at Port Tampa and Miami at Steamer's Wharf for Key West, Nassau, and Havana. We 
quote rates gladly. Handsome printed matter sent free to inquirers. 

W.J. MURPHY, W. C RINEARSON, 



GEN'L MANAGER. 



CINCINNATI. 



GEN'L PASS'GR AGENT. 



Volume IV JANUARY, 1901 



No. 5 



*• V» *» Subscription $1.50 per Year ^» "*• *• 




A LITTLE JOURNEY 

TO 

CHINA 



MARIAN M. GEORGE:, Editor. >< n? 
nc Ne A. FLANAGAN CO., Publishers. 



Issued Monthly, except July a.nd August 

V "*• iEntered Jr\ Chicago Post Office «vs Second-Class Mail V V 



. 



". 



&3lgS3eSSa!£gS3SI8Sa^3!SB^^ 



ANNOUNCEMENT 



1 



"China" is the fifth of a series of Plan Book Journeys, 
which will embrace a great many countries of great and grow- 
ing interest to teachers and pupils. All countries may ultimately 
be included. 

The first numbers in the series are devoted to our 
new possessions, and to Ihose countries which the late wars 
have brought to the attention of the public, and made centers 
of interest. 

The work is planned and prepared for both teachers and 
pupils. The LiTTEE Journeys for the pupils are to be used as 
reference books in connection with the study of a country, or 
as supplementary readers for the intermediate and Gram- 
mar grades. 

The Teachers' Edition contains the same reading matter, 
with additional pages of suggestions to teachers for conducting 
these journeys abroad ; Programs for Afternoons and Evenings 
,. Abroad ; Music ; Recitations, and other .material for these enter- 
tainments. 

These books are intended for teachers who find it difficult 
to obtain information in regard to the countries visited. 

It is hoped that each volume will be specially helpful to 
those teachers whose books of travel are few, and opportunities 
for travel limited. 

To those teachers who wish to interest their pupils in geog- 
raphy and reading. 

To those teachers and pupils who have grown weary of the 
usual Friday Afternoon Exercises. 

To those teachers who wish to arouse the interest and enlist 
the aid of parents in the work of the school. 

To those teachers who wish to equip their schools with 
libraries, pictures, stereopticon views, etc. 

To those teachers who wish to obtain funds for this purpose 
by giving school entertainments which will not require much 
extra work on the part of the teachers. 

,To those teachers who wish to give entertainments which 
will be the outcome of the regular school work. 

To those teachers who believe that pupils enjoy, appreciate, 
and make the best use of material which they themselves have 
helped to secure or earn. 



The following numbers are published: September, Cuba; Octo- 
ber, Puerto Rico; November, Hawaii; December, The Philippines; 
January, China. 

The following numbers are under way: February, Japan; 
March, Mexico; Apqil, Alaska; May, Australia; June, Canada. 



VlEEB88BBR8Sg8a8BEB3&JJ&EB^IEBI8BEB. 






THE BEST LINE BETWEEN 



CHICAGO AND ST. PAUL 




AND BETWEEN 

CHICAGO AND OMAHA 

IS THE 

hicagq, Milwaukee® St b Pau 




THE ROUTE OF 



THE PIONEER LIMITED 



The famous train of the world. On your way to China see that one 
coupon of your ticket reads over the Chicago, Milwaukee &St. Paul R'y- 
6600 miles of thoroughly equipped road in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, 
Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, and the upper penin- 
sula of Michigan. 

F. A. MILLER, General Passenger Agent, CHICAGO, ILL. 




Short Route 
Fast Time..... 



'ACROSS AMBRICA" 



To Japan, China, 



and all Oriental Ports 



STEAMSHIPS MONTHLY FROM SEATTLE 




± 



MAP iHOWmO LOCATION Of 

Great Northern Railway 
System 

BUFFALO TO SEATTLE 

"AORO88 AMEMOA" 



J ,. StftUktLMr I— . iX" A 










xjuac 



Illustrated Information from 
F. I. WHITNEY, Q. P. & T. A., - . ST. PAUL, MINN. 



Q. P. 0. Mbi 




